Swoosh
by Veep
Summary: Sam and Jack are headed to a diplomatic meeting but land on the wrong planet. Jack looks to Sam to get them home but Sam starts making a life on this new planet.
1. Chapter 1

Swoosh – Part 1

"How much longer Carter?" O'Neill paced the gate room. His BDUs still fit but the half filled pack felt heavier than it should.

"We can't jump the gun sir. Daniel and Teal'c are supposed to arrive at 463 at ten after. If we dial in now they won't be able to dial in on time." Carter leaned against the wall and watched Jack pace.

"They should have just come here first so we could leave together." O'Neill scowled. Patience was never one of his best traits.

"You know how much Teal'c hates needles. If they'd come back here it would have taken hours to get them through medical. That would have meant more aimless pacing for you." Carter looked away from Jack so he couldn't see her smirk.

"Fine. How much longer?"

Carter glanced up at the control room hoping for salvation. Walter held up two fingers. She swallowed her sigh while keeping her eye roll to a bare minimum, skills she had perfected after years of working with impatient men. "Almost time sir."

It was a long two minutes but finally Walter gave them the thumbs up and the gate started spinning. The familiar swooch was followed by the glassy glow of the wormhole. "We have a signal from the M.A.L.P. You are approved for transport."

O'Neill smiled and stepped up the ramp with Carter to his left. It had been months since his last trip. He protested a little when he found out the Larians had refused to finalize the long negotiations unless the original team that made contact with them was there for the celebration but he was really thrilled to have another excuse to go through the gate. It wasn't exactly the same as the good old days since Daniel, who was at a dig on 721, and Teal'c, who was working with the freed Gao'uld, met off planet and gated to 463 together.

O'Neill and Carter stepped through the gate and felt the familiar pull as their molecules were torn apart. Walter however heard an alarm. He looked up in time to see the event horizon flash and disappear. Errors flashed across his screen.

General Landry looked over Walter's shoulder and felt his heart skip a beat. "Once you get those errors codes recorded dial back to 463. Let's make sure they made it." Walter nodded. Computer techs had flooded the room but Walter ignored their bickering over the errors codes as he dialed 463.

One of the geeks came up to Landry as the third chevron fell into place. "Sir, I strongly recommend against this. We shouldn't use the gate until we have a better idea what happened."

Landry nodded, "I understand your concern but I need to know if they made it and I'm not letting anyone go through. For now that will have to be enough."

"But using the gate might wipe out important data."

Landry sighed, "I know but this can't wait. You have a full copy of the computer stuff so you'll have to work with that." The fifth chevon locked as Landry turned his back on the computer technician. He knew the man was giving him good advice but his gut told him something was wrong and he didn't want to be the man responsible for killing General O'Neill.

The seventh chevron finally locked. "SGC to SG-1. Come in SG-1."

"This is Daniel Jackson." His voice came through just as him image appeared on the screen. He was leaning in towards the camera on the M.A.L.P. "Why did the gate flash open and then close? Are Jack and Sam still coming through?"

All eyes in the control room moved towards Landry. He felt the blood draining from his face. Landry slowly leaned back towards the microphone. "They went through the gate. We hoped they were with you. Something happened and we're working on figuring it out."

Daniels eyes widened, "They aren't there and they aren't here. Where the hell are they?"

"That is what we are trying to work out Dr. Jackson. We will get back with you when we know more."

"Teal'c and I are coming to the SGC." Daniel glanced back at Teal'c for confirmation that Teal'c agreed.

"I'm sorry Dr. Jackson but I promised the scientists that I wouldn't allow any gate travel for the time being. They fussed enough about making this connection. Everyone will be rerouted to the alpha site until these guys tell me they have all the info they can get ." Landry made eye contact with Walter and nodded.

"Right. I get it. Right." Daniel nodded but still looked stunned. "Let us know if we can do anything."

"Will do. SGC out." Landry signaled Walter and the gate shut down.

"Ugh. Ow. Damn. Carter? You ok?" O'Neill lay face down in the dirt. Carter landed partially on his left side.

"I'm fine, sir. You?" Carter rolled off of the General and sat up.

O'Neill rolled away from Carter until he was laying face up. "Not so much really. My trick knee decided now was the right time to do one of those yoga moves, like a camel doing a handstand or something."

Carter knew the sweat on the General's brow meant his pain was severe. His attempt to joke confirmed her fear but she had to get them out of this hole before she could focus on his injury. The hole in which they had landed was formed when the gate's event horizon opened. If the gate opened again before they got out of this hole they would both be vaporized.

"Do you think you can climb out?" Carter was looking up at the gate around the hole looking for the best way out.

"I'm willing to try just about anything to get out of this hole." O'Neill pushed himself up on his elbows and sat up. His right knee screamed as he moved but he knew he could push through it.

Carter helped Jack stand on his left leg. "I think we should climb out over here." She tilted her head to her left.

Through clinched teeth O'Neill said, "Whatever. Let's get on with it." It took three hops the edge where they could start climbing. They both looked up towards the gate. The edges of the hole were smooth. Carter helped the General prop himself against the side of the hole while she started climbing up, trying to carve out some hand holds.

Carter came back down and reached into O'Neill's backpack. She pulled a rope out and held it up. "Can you tie this into a harness or do you want me to do it?" She worked hard to keep a smirk off her face as she dangled a free end of the rope in front of the General's face.

O'Neill snatched it away. "I can tie my own harness." He looped the rope around his legs, waist, and chest.

"Let me climb out and I will anchor my rope around the gate. Then I can give you a little leverage as you climb up." Carter fully expected to be turned down so the pause that meant he was considering her office surprised her.

"Get on with it Carter. The sooner we are out of here the better."

"Yes, sir."

Carter climbed up about 4 feet and looked down at Jack. He was pale but steady on his one good leg. She could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't going to be able to make progress until she threw down a rope. He saw her looking down.

"Make it quick. Once you get up there I'll take all the help you can give." Sam nodded and started moving again. Perhaps his time in Washington had been good for him.

It took Carter fifteen minutes to climb over the gate. She made footholds as she climbed. She tied her rope around the gate and threw the free down to O'Neill. He fastened it to his harness and gave it a hard pull.

Carter leaned over the gate and looked down at O'Neill. "I'm ready, sir. Tell me if I'm pulling too fast."

"There's no such thing as too fast when it come to getting out of this hole."

Carter started backing up, using her full weight to pull. Carter walked backwards to the dialing platform and wrapped the rope around it. She went back to the edge of the hole and saw the General was nearly half way up. "Having tea up there Colonel?"

"Earl Grey, sir. Ready for round two." Carter looked back over the edge as she reached for the rope.

"Let's go." Carter pulled on the rope until she could wrap it around herself and begin walking backwards. When she got to the dialing platform she secured the rope again. She wasn't back to the gate yet when she heard O'Neill yelling. "Just a little more. Come on Carter. I'm almost out."

"I'm right here." Carter started pulling again and within a minute she saw O'Neill's hand appear at the edge of the gate. She pulled until the top of his head appeared over the gate. She held her position until his elbows were over the edge. Once he has his weight secured she dropped the rope and help O'Neill over the edge of the gate.

He was covered in sweat and breathing like he had run five miles. O'Neill covered his face with his right arm as he lay in the grass panting. Cater was kneeling beside him. She took off her pack and pulled out her medical kit.

"Can I check your knee, sir?"

O'Neill nodded and sighed. "Go for it Colonel."

Carter untied his boot. He grunted as she lifted his leg to remove his boot. She placed it back down as gently as possible but she saw him grimace anyway. Once she got his pants leg up she saw his knee cap was sitting too far to the left. It was clearly dislocated.

"I am going to have to pull your leg while putting pressure on your knee cap to get it back into place." Carter grimaced as she said it. "Would you like something before I do it?"

"Nope. Just get it over with." O'Neill wrapped his free hand in his jacket and squeezed. Cater Placed one hand on the outside of his leg and pulled as hard as she could on his lower leg. O'Neill screamed as Carter felt his knee cap slide back into place. She gently lowered his leg. The General was breathing too quickly, which worried Carter. She pulled a wrap out of the medical kit.

"I'm gonna wrap up your knee. I still think you should take a small dose of a painkiller. It would take off the edge and not impede your judgment."

The General actually snickered. "You're worried about my judgment?"

"Since I have to follow your orders your judgment is always high on my list of concerns, sir." Carter smiled as O'Neill lifted his head to glance at her.

"Very funny. Wrap up my damn knee and I'll consider taking something."

Once O'Neill's knee was wrapped Carter put his boot back on. She cut one oxycotin into two pieces and handed the slightly larger piece and her canteen to the General.

"Thanks Colonel. Now that we aren't in that hole faced with imminent death if someone dialed in how about you go dial up the SGC and tell them they screwed up. I certainly don't see the majestic mountains of Larian. You can also tell them I am severely unhappy about them sending me into a gate that was lying down. They better not even think I'm gonna stand that thing up."

Colonel Carter nodded. "I'm sure General Landry will love to hear all of that from you when we get back sir."

"Oh he'll be getting quite an earful. So will Walter."

Carter went over to the dialing pedestal and stalled. She ran her hand over the symbols and then just stood staring. Her stillness worried O'Neill. He knew when her body stopped moving it was because her mind was whirling at a thousand miles an hour.

"Carter?" She slowed looked towards the General. "What's up?"

"These aren't the right symbols." She looked back at the pedestal as if maybe things would be different when she looked again. The symbols were just as wrong as the first time she looked at them.

O'Neill pushed himself up into a full sitting position. "Explain what you mean by wrong."

Carter looked back at him. Her eyes were wide and her face was slightly paler than before. "I mean these aren't the symbols we use. None of them look familiar. I have no idea how to dial the SGC."

"Help me up." O'Neill put his arms up and Carter came back over to him. She provided the leverage while he did the work. Having his kneecap back in place but half a pain pill made standing more tolerable. With Carter's help he limped to the dialing pedestal and confirmed what Carter had told him. He'd never seen any of these symbols.

"Alright Colonel, what do you think is going on here?" General O'Neill looked to side as Carter shook her head.

"I have a few guess but none of them are good."

"Enlighten me."

"This could be a fake pedestal installed to confuse anyone who made it onto the planet. The symbols could have been altered by the people who laid the gate down. We could have arrived on a planet in a different gate system than ours."

The General nodded. "A different gate system?"

"We have been keeping records of all the gate pedestals when we go to new worlds. Those closest to Earth share all the same symbols but the further out we go the more often we find symbols not on our gate. The symbols correspond to star clusters so it makes sense that as we get further from Earth the adjacent planets would be associated with different start clusters. At some point it would be possible to be so far from Earth that all the star clusters are different." Carter kept running her hands over the new symbols as she talked.

"How could we end up gating that far?" The throbbing in his knee was giving O'Neill a headache and watching Carter ponder wasn't helping him feel better.

"I've been wondering about that. We hypothesized that we could jump from planet to planet until we got to one without any of our symbols. We kept records of the unique symbols as we traveled. We were able to plot star clusters for most of them which allowed us to make estimates about the real size of the gate system but all of that information is back at the SGC."

"So your best guess is we jumped really far?" O'Neill lifted his eyebrows in the hope his premiere scientist was willing to go with one hypothesis.

"Did the jump feel weird to you, sir?" Carter looked up from the pedestal and looked at O'Neill.

"The jump seemed bumpy and the landing was a real let down. If I had paid for that trip I would have been asking for a refund." O'Neill leaned against the pedestal. His knee was beginning to really protest again.

"I agree it was bumpy. Very unusual." Carter went back to looking at the pedestal.

"Alright Carter, this is interesting and all but I think we should set up camp and then you keep pondering the wonders of the universe." Carter absentmindedly nodded her consent. "I mean it. After we have some shelter you can let your marvelous wheels spin all night."

Carter had to grin at that. "My marvelous wheels?"

O'Neill shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, you know, those wheels in your head that are always spinning and spitting out ideas that save my butt over and over." Carter laughed out loud. "Maybe you could get those wheels working on where we could set up a camp with some pretense of protection."

Carter and O'Neill looked out across the horizon at the flat fields of tall grass. They could see for miles but that also means they could easily be seen from miles away. There also wasn't anything that looked combustible, which meant no warm toasty fire tonight. It wasn't too cool right now but they both knew things would be different tonight.

"We're only carrying the diplomatic minimum in our packs so we're missing a few things we'd like to have tonight, like a tent and sleeping bags."

"Did I approve something as stupid as diplomatic packs?"

"Yes, sir. It also doesn't look like we're going to have a fire. Even if we had some wood we'd probably set this whole meadow on fire before we got our first marshmallow roasted."

"Diplomatic packs include marshmallows? Maybe I wasn't being a total idiot when I signed that order."

Carter sighed. She appreciated his attempts at levity but she couldn't give in or he'd just get worse. "I'm afraid we're each stuck with a couple MREs, probably the stuff nobody likes, some water, a small med kit, a thermal blanket, walkie talkies, solar battery charger, and an extra clip of ammo."

"That sounds luxurious. We might as well save the MREs for later."

Carter got out her thermal blanket and laid it out on the ground near the pedestal. "Why don't you sit here and I'll scout around a bit."

O'Neill hopped over to the blanket and slide down to the blanket. "What exactly do you plan to scout? We can see for miles."

Carter looked around at the vista that surrounded them, "I don't know. I just feel like I need to do something other than sit here."

"Fine, establish a perimeter but don't go further than I can see."

"That shouldn't be hard."

Carter walked out about a mile and circled around the area. There wasn't anything to see but grass and more grass. The walk gave her a little time to think but her thoughts made her mood even more foul.

"I'm back, sir."

"Good to know, Carter. Did you see anything interesting out there?" O'Neill was leaning against the podium playing with a strap on the backpack lying beside him. "Things have been lively here. I swear I saw at least three different things that looked like grasshoppers."

"Insects are high in protein." Carter took off her backpack and dropped it in front of O'Neill.

"We're not that desperate yet."

Carter sat down near her backpack and sighed. "Agreed, I'd prefer to be able to roast them so they are extra crispy and it doesn't look like we'll have a fire hanging out here."

"I worry about you Carter."

"Insects are a great way to keep my girlish figure."

"Ugh. I'll take the beer gut over cricket hips any day. Did you have any strokes of brilliance while you were out wandering?" O'Neill slid his backpack under his sore knee to prop it up a little.

Carter wasn't ready to share yet. "Would you like another half a pill?"

"Avoiding my question?"

"I have a bit more pondering I'd like to do. A nice view of the night sky wouldn't hurt either."

"Looks like you'll get your wish soon. The temp has already dropped several degrees so I bet we're in for a cold night." O'Neill's arms were already wrapped around himself.

"Let me take first watch. You can go ahead and take a pain pill while I keep thinking things through." Carter reached into her backpack for the med kit.

"Alright but you keep those creepy crickets away from me. They looked like they could be trouble makers." O'Neill took the backpack out from under his knee so he could slide down and lay down. Carter reached into his pack and got out the second thermal blanket. She slid her backpack over towards the General.

"You can use one pack as a pillow and the other under your knee."

O'Neill swallowed the pain pill and lay down. "Why this is just luxurious. We could make a bundle advertising this as a getaway for all those yuppies."

"Wasn't yuppies more of an 80's term, sir?"

"Hit me while I'm down Carter. Good night." O'Neill closed his eyes but didn't wipe the smirk off his face for several minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

Carter wasn't sure how long night would last on this planet so she figured she'd give O'Neill at least five hours so the pain pill wouldn't leave him too groggy for his shift. That was also plenty of time to plot out some of the constellations that could be seen from this planet. She got up and drew out the symbols on the pedestal to use as a reference for her star gazing. Once she was done she settled in beside the General who was already gently snoring.

Carter had to wait an hour before it was dark enough to do much work. The temperature fell below freezing two hours after dark. Although she was absorbed in her thoughts and work she made sure she kept her feet moving. Her socks weren't as thick as she would have liked on a night like this. If she let herself ponder it her jacket could have been a bit thicker too but it was her feet and her ears that were really bothering her.

It took six hours but Carter was sure that they had traveled beyond any area that she had previously mapped. She wished she had brought along a laptop but for no good reason she could come up with now she had left all her work behind. Of course, even if she had brought a laptop the data she wanted wouldn't have been on it.

She nudged O'Neill gently, "Good morning, sir."

"Ugh." O'Neill checked his watch. "I told you to wake me after four hours."

"I know but I needed more time to finish my observations."

The General sat up and slid back so he could lean on the pedestal. "I assume that means you have learned amazing things and have solved all of our problems."

Carter grimaced, "Not exactly, sir."

"In that case save it until after you get some sleep." O'Neill wrapped his arms around himself. "When did it get so dang cold?"

Carter slid under the thermal blanket that still covered O'Neill's legs, "While you were asleep."

When Carter awoke the sun was just beginning to rise. She checked her watch and was surprised to see she had slept for five hours. It was still bitter cold. After stretching out the kinks in her back Carter sat up. The General was slowly pacing around the partially buried gate. Carter wrapped the thermal blanket around her and joined him.

"Morning, sir."

"Good to see you up Colonel. Ready to do some exploring?"

"I guess that means your knee is feeling better." Carter glanced down at O'Neill's leg as she spoke.

"It is tolerable. Let's have a little something to eat and we can pick a direction."

"Considering what we have for breakfast we might as well eat and walk."

They went back to their packs, rolled up the blankets, and pulled out energy bars. Carter thought she might see some trees on the horizon to the west so they headed towards the possible forest. They quietly chewed on their energy bars as they walked.

"So what did you learn last night?" O'Neill was scanning the vast flat plain trying not to stare at Carter as he asked if she knew how to save their butts.

"I'm still pondering it but based on the constellations I was able to match to the pedestal I have no idea where we are located. I also wasn't able to locate any of our usual constellations."

"So what does that mean?"

"That means we are very, very far from home." Carter scowled as she said it. Last night had left her fairly hopeless about any chance of a rescue.

They had been walking at a gentle but steady pace for over two hours, making progress towards the trees, when they first heard a vehicle rolling up behind them. The engine was quiet but as the large truck bumped along the unpaved road the cargo made a loud rattle. It took about twenty minutes for the truck to catch up with them. It slowed down as it approached and stopped just as O'Neill and Carter stepped off the road.

"Good day to you both." The driver stuck his head out the window and nodded. "I am Marl. Are you headed to Uraba?"

O'Neill nodded, "I'm O'Neill and this is Carter." O'Neill pointed his thumb in Carter's general direction. "If Uraba is the next town in this direction that's where we are headed."

The truck driver's eyes narrowed at the odd answer. "I doubt you can make it to town before dark at this rate and this is not be a good time of the year to be in the forest after dark. You are welcome to ride in the back."

"That is much appreciated." O'Neill and Carter headed to the back and climbed up. Luckily everything was secured even though it sounded like it was being bounced all over. The eight hour ride was rough but still better for O'Neill's knee than walking. They each ate an energy bar on the way. O'Neill tried to listen to the ipod he had brought along but the rattle of the cargo was so loud he couldn't really enjoy his music.

They passed a few farms as they got closer to town. The homes were small but well cared for. The farms looked large. Neither of them saw anyone outside however. O'Neill assumed the cold was keeping everyone inside. The truck slowed as they pulled into town. There were a few houses and many stores and shops lining the main road. The truck pulled behind one of the larger stores and stopped.

The driver walked around the back as O'Neill and Carter climbed down from the back. "Welcome to Uraba. I am sure you are hungry after such a long ride. My family and I would be pleased to have you join us for dinner. It would give us a chance to really meet."

Carter glanced at O'Neill and got his approving nod. "We would appreciate your hospitality. I'm afraid our supplies have run very low."

"Please, follow me. Forgive my wife if she seems surprised but we rarely have unannounced guests." Marl led them into a small parlor dining room combination. Two small children rushed out to meet him. He lifted them both up easily. His wife walked in from the kitchen and stopped short as she started to greet her husband.

"Darling, this is O'Neill and Carter. I saw them about to enter the Kral woods as I was coming home so I offered them a ride. I invited them to stay for dinner." Marl's wife quickly recovered from her surprise and warmly greeted them. The kids started trying to climb up O'Neill's leg and he couldn't resist picking up the young boy.

"I will be back in a few minutes. I just need to unload the truck." Marl turned back to the door.

"Let me help." Carter moved to follow as Marl turned around wild a look of mild surprise on his face.

"Are you sure? I'm not one to pass up on an offer of help."

Carter smiled. "I'm very sure."

Marl and Carter walked back out to the truck while O'Neill stayed inside with the kids clamoring for his attention. O'Neill was glad he found a comfortable sofa upon which he quickly sat. The truck was filled with different foods, some books, tools, and clothing.

Sam lifted a heavy box of fruits and placed them on a table inside Marl's storage room. "Do you run a business?"

"I am the largest merchant in town. I sell a variety of products from fruits uncommon in this region to tools and clothes. This store has served my family well for generations. Things are always a bit lean during the cold season because we don't get out and travel as much but it will warm up in a few weeks and I'll be busy again."

"It was very cold last night."

Marl stopped and looked at Carter, "Were you and O'Neill outside last night?"

Carter nodded yes, "We were lost and stopped for the night."

"In that case I am very glad I came across you today. It is too cold at night for you to be out."

"I agree. One night was enough for me."

After they finished unloading Marl and Carter came back into Marl's toasty warm house that was filled with wonderful smells. Dinner included a small chicken, some type of roasted potato, a green vegetable that was a little sweet and looked a bit like asparagus, and some whole grain bread. The kids sat on either side of O'Neill and kept up a constant stream of chatter. Marl and his wife explained Uraba was mostly agrarian. The next closest town was a 14 hour drive away. Marl and his wife knew the gate existed but thought it was an ancient statue their ancestors used for worship. They no longer worship the Gods their ancestors once worshiped. The kids grew bored with the adult conversation and migrated from the table to a room just off from the kitchen.

As Carter helped clean up after dinner she could see the kids playing in the bedroom that was attached to the kitchen. The little girl was coloring and the boy was running a truck across her drawings, which resulted in quite a bit of yelling and a few attempted slaps. Neither of the parents jumped into the fray. They let the kids work it out. Eventually the little boy decided annoying his sister was less interesting than crawling under the bed.

Marl's wife looked at Carter as she was stacking up the clean dinner dishes, "Do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"Ummmm, not exactly but we are used to camping out when necessary."

"That would not be acceptable. Let me speak with Marl." She left the kitchen before Carter had a chance to respond. After drying the last dish Carter went back to the parlor where O'Neill was talking to Marl and his wife.

"Carter, we've been invited to stay the night in the barn out back." O'Neill tilted his head back towards the barn that Carter had not yet seen.

"It will be good to be under a roof tonight." Carter smiled at Marl to show her thanks.

Marl nodded his agreement, "It will be warm and dry, much better than the forecast for the night."

O'Neill and Carter found the barn to be quite toasty thanks to the geothermal heating system that brought warm steam up through pipes that ran across one wall of the barn. O'Neill had to force Carter to stop investigating the heating system so they could get some sleep. The straw was more comfortable than either of them expected and the sounds from the animals that lived in the barn were relaxing. It was still dark when they both woke. The nights and days included more hours than Earth, which was throwing off their circadian rhythms. After being up for about twenty minutes they each ate an MRE and Carter used the extra time to examine some of the equipment in the barn. The technology seemed to be close to Earth's level but much cleaner, Carter didn't see any evidence of fossil fuel use.

Marl came out a couple hours later to feed the animals. Carter and O'Neill pitched in. When they all went in for breakfast Marl told them he was calling a town council together that night. He explained that although he was happy to have them stay for a couple days making it for the rest of the cold season would require more help than he could provide alone. He told O'Neill and Carter that the council would either provide them with enough goods to help them get to the next town, about a week away if riding a horse, or help them establish a home if they wanted to stay here.

O'Neill and Carter spent the day exploring the town, learning more about what they had decided would be their home until Stargate Command was able to reach them. The gate was a day's ride away so it made sense to stay as close as possible. After dinner with Marl and his family they all went to a small community building where twelve men and three women sat around a large table. There were extra chairs along the walls for visitors. Marl sat at the large table. O'Neill and Carter took seats along the wall. Many people had come to see the visitors that had been wandering town all day.

A large man at one end of the table stood and the room went silent. "Marl, please introduce our visitors and tell us all why you have called us together tonight."

"I met Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter while I was returning from Otif. They are travelers looking for a new home. They have run out of supplies and as we all know there are many weeks left before planting begins and even longer before harvest. I have asked you all here tonight to see if the people of Uraba can provide them with assistance." Marl sat down after his brief speech.

The man at the head of the table looked over at O'Neill and Carter. "Welcome to Uraba. I am Framel, speaker of the Uraba council. From where do you hail?"

O'Neill stood, "We come from Cheyenne Mountain. It is very far away."

The occupants of the room started whispering to each other. The man held up his hand, "I have never heard of Cheyenne Mountain. It must be a long distance off."

"It is indeed." O'Neill nodded his agreement.

"Are you planning to return to Cheyenne Mountain?"

"Although we would love to go home I am not sure when that will be possible."

The man nodded as the rest of the room stayed focused on O'Neill. "Are you and Samantha Carter planning to stay in Uraba since going home may not be possible in the near future?"

O'Neill started nodded as he spoke, "We looked around your fine town today and found it to be beautiful. We would be happy living here and we would like to find a way to contribute to the well being of Uraba." Marl had recommended offering to work towards the benefit of Uraba so O'Neill made sure to throw in their willingness to work.

"Our community can use strong people willing to work hard. I propose to the council that we allow Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter to pick one of the two abandoned farms to establish as their new home. If we allow them to establish themselves in our community we would be committing ourselves to help them until their first harvest. Those in favor of welcoming Jack and Samantha please vote now." There was a series of thumping sounds from under the table.

"Those not in favor of welcoming Jack and Samantha please vote now." There were two lone thumps.

"Welcome to Uraba. I suggest that you find ways to be useful and make many friends until your harvest." Framel bowed towards Jack. "In the morning you can examine the two farms and pick the one you would prefer to occupy. Your neighbors will make you very welcome."

"We both appreciate your generous offer. Carter and I are used to hard work. We will begin looking for jobs and make ourselves useful immediately."

"I suggest you speak with Jamale if you wish to find a job. This time of the year he has the most need of help." The man tilted his head towards the other side of the room. A muscular tall man nodded at the mention of his name. The table's occupants got up and began milling around the room. Many came over to O'Neill and Carter to make their introductions and offer assistance.

Jamale was one of the many people crowding around the newest occupant of Uraba. "Welcome to Uraba. I am looking for help at my machining shop. If you are good with your hands and can repair equipment I would welcome your help."

O'Neill tilted his head towards Carter. "If you are looking for someone that can repair anything Carter is your woman. Carter's a mechanical genius."

Jamale gave Carter a look with which she was all too familiar. "I have never hired a woman before but if you can do the work I need the help. My sons are still learning so they are slow. The machines needing repair are growing in number and they need to be ready when the weather turns warmer. Tomorrow morning go look at your potential new homes then join me for your midday meal. After we eat I will show you around and see if you have the skills necessary to find employment with me."

"I look forward to seeing your shop. I hope I can exceed your expectations." Carter smiled politely. She had every intention of making sure this large muscular man quickly learned she could tackle anything he threw her way.

They spent the night in Marl's barn. They had a small breakfast that tasted a lot like warm granola before heading out to look at their potential new homes. Marl gave them directions and they set out early. Both farms were to the west so as long as they were quick they could look at them both and get back for lunch.

The first farm was about an hour's walk from town. It had a barn and a small house with a fenced in vegetable garden off to one side. The house had a main room that served as a living room, dining room, and kitchen. There was one bedroom with a connecting bathroom. The house had geothermal heat and a fireplace. There was a generator that used geothermal power to provide electricity for the house and barn. The roof of the house and the barn needed some work but both buildings seemed structurally sound. The farming plots were grown over with weeds and the closest creek was a good ten minute walk away. There was a well near the house though.

The second house was about 30 minutes further from town. The barn was in need of major repairs but the house seemed to be doing well. The house was a little larger, with one bedroom, a bath, a kitchen dining room combination, and a small living room. Geothermal was also used to provide heat and electricity for this home. There didn't seem to be a vegetable garden and the fields seemed to be just as run over with weeds. The well still had water and a creek could be heard at a distance but time was running short so they decided not to look for it.

They chatted on the way back and decided that the first homestead was their better option. It was a little closer to town and needed less work overall. It also featured more furniture, including a nice sized bed and a semicircular sofa. A vegetable garden that had already been tilled a couple times was a bonus.

They made it back to town as the sun reached the midpoint of the sky. They stopped at Marl's to tell him they preferred the farm closest to town. He approved of their choice and said he would talk to Framel.

Jamale was just putting the midday meal on the table as they arrived. "You are here at the right moment. Please join us." Jamale motioned to the table where two teenage boys were sitting. "This is my oldest son Saff," Jamle pointed to his left," and my youngest son Thale." Everyone nodded their greetings and sat down. The meal consisted of a savory meat that tasted like game but not like anything O'Neill or Carter had eaten before. There was a potato like vegetable and some canned fruits that were sweet.

The boys stayed to clean up while Jamale gave O'Neill and Carter a tour. The machinery included tillers, irrigators, tractors, trucks, and other farming equipment. They used biofuels and batteries recharged by generators powered through the geothermal energy they harvested to run the equipment. Carter knew she would be able to handle working on these machines since the technology didn't differ too much from what was used on Earth.

Jamale stopped at a table with a large motor sitting upon it. "My son's have not been able to figure out why this motor will not start. I am curious if you can discover what is wrong and fix it."

Carter smiled. "I will do my best."

Jamale and O'Neill left her to work. O'Neill went back to Marl's to collect what little stuff they had left in the barn. He was surprised to find that some supplies had already been dropped off for them. Marl donated a small cart so they could load up these new supplies to take with them. Jack headed back to the machine shop after about two hours of packing and chatting with Marl. He was surprised to see Sam helping Thale sharpen a tiller blade.

"How goes it Carter?" Jack leaned on the table where the broken motor used to be sitting.

"I think things are going well." Carter smiled as Thale kept working.

"I would agree with Samantha." Jamale walked up behind O'Neill. "She is very knowledgeable and will be an asset here. I know you both have much work to do at your new home but I hope you can return the day after tomorrow to begin work. I have many customers anxious to get their tools back before it is time to prepare the land for sowing."

Carter glanced at O'Neill who nodded his consent. "Day after tomorrow it is. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"If what I have seen today is any indication I think I will be thanking you." Jamale smiled and went to the back of the shop.

Carter searched through their donations and put together dinner while O'Neill did a more thorough examination of the repairs needed. They made a plan for the next day over dinner. Carter took the sofa and O'Neill took the bed, after Carter insisted.


	3. Chapter 3

Swoosh Chapter 3

The next day was filled with minor repairs, rehanging the doors to the stalls in the barn, two small roof repairs, repairing the fence around the vegetable garden, and general cleaning. There were some blankets, linens, and clothes in the bedroom closet. Carter had cleaned some of the dishes, silverware, and pans the night before when she made dinner. Today she cleaned all the rest of the utensils. As she went through the rest of the drawers she also found a couple old journals, a few packets of seeds, a sewing kit, and knitting needles.

They were both exhausted by the end of the day. The house was looking good and it smelled much less stale after all the cleaning. Dinner wasn't a grand affair but it was filling. Their new neighbors had been generous considering there were still several weeks to get through before they could start planting, let alone harvest food. O'Neill had found a couple bows in the barn. They both planned on doing some practicing so they could hunt some game to supplement the food they had been given. They would both feel better if they were a bit more self sufficient.

Carter was up early the next morning. After a quick breakfast she started the hour walk to her new job. She had bundled up in a sweater and a thin coat she'd found in the closet. O'Neill had insisted she wear her backpack so she felt like she was exploring off world instead of walking to her new job. She had thrown in a bag of dried vegetables for her lunch.

Jamale and his sons were in the shop when she arrived. "Welcome Samantha. I have set aside space for you over there." Jamale pointed towards the right side of the shop just under a small window. "There are two tractors in need of maintenance and a bailer that needs a new belt over there."

"I'll get right on it." Samantha sat her stuff down in her corner and fixed the bailer first. She quickly completed the annual maintenance on both tractors. Jamale checked on her work often and was pleased. He insisted that she join him and his sons for lunch. She tried to decline but after he saw what she had packed he insisted. He wanted her to have enough strength to work all afternoon.

Jamale insisted that Carter leave well before dark. He said it wouldn't be safe for her to walk so far after dark. He gave her a pie to take home and thanked her for her hard work. They agreed that she would come back every other day, giving her time to work on the farm and earn money working for Jamale.

O'Neill was thrilled to see the pie Carter carried home. Over dinner she told him about her spot in the shop and he told her about his archery practice. They decided to try a bit of hunting the next day.

After an eight day week of going to work every other day Carter found a project she wanted to work on in her off time but she needed the materials and tools available in Jamale's shop. He liked her idea and was willing to throw in some parts but he couldn't give her time off because they were still trying to get through all the orders sitting in the shop. They finally agreed that Carter would work two days in a row and stay with Jamale the night between her two days. That would allow her to spend her evenings working on her personal project without taking away time from the work Jamale needed done.

Carter knew O'Neill wouldn't like this idea but she tried to help him see the wisdom of this decision without giving away her real plan. "The walk to and from work is costing me two hours a day. I could get more done if I could work longer, especially since Jamale insists that I leave before dark every day."

"He must have a good reason for making you leave."

Carter moved her carrot like vegetable around her plate. "He says there are some nocturnal animals that should be avoided."

"Seems like a fair point." Jack picked up the leg of the roast bird that had been dropped off by a friendly neighbor that morning.

"I talked to Jamale about it today and he agrees he could use me if I had more time."

"Are you going to work there more days?" Jack bite into the bird leg and juice ran down his chin.

"I was thinking I would work two days back to back and stay at Jamale's the night between the days." O'Neill stopped chewing and looked up.

"We don't really know these people well enough for you to be shacking up with them."

Carter pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Shacking up? That makes it sound like you think I'm going to…well I'm not."

O'Neill shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant I wouldn't feel comfortable with you staying overnight somewhere without me. We don't know this place well enough to split up."

"We're split up all day every other day and we've been doing just fine. We could use the money and I like the work."

O'Neill looked down at his plate and scowled. "I don't like it." he grimaced, "Won't this take away the time you have available to work on getting us home?"

Sam's brow creased. "Home? I've been continuing the star charts and I will keep on those until we have made a full cycle around this sun but that isn't going to get us home. I've told you that I don't have any way to dial Earth from here. I can't get us home."

O'Neill sighed loudly. "You can stay at Jamale's as long as you take a radio with you, check in twice a day, and not give up on going home so easily."

Carter smiled. He had caved faster than she had expected. "Taking along a radio makes sense. I will keep making the star charts and I won't stop pondering ways to get home but I also can't promise to keep hoping for something I don't think is possible. If you got to know Jamale you just might like him."

O'Neill grimaced even more, "I'm sure I would but for now you can keep making friends for the both of us." The thought of Carter snuggling up to Jamale invaded his mind and his mood became downright sour. He knew Carter's intention were all about work, since she loved to work, but he still hated the thought of her staying overnight with Jamale, even if there were walls between them.

When Carter left the next morning O'Neill barely said a word. He couldn't shake the mental images of Carter in Jamale's arms. She thought he was angry with her, which made her mood a bit foul. She arrived to find Jamale's sons having an argument over a thinning belt and its life expectancy. She navigated her way around them and started sharpening a tiller blade. After dinner Carter put the few things she brought with her into the spare room over the shop. The small room was heated and included a bed, sink, and the Uraba version of a toilet. She sat her solar battery charger in the window, hung a couple shirts in the closet, put some delicates on the top shelf in the closet, and hung a small mirror near the sink.

"Carter calling O'Neill."

"O'Neill here."

"We just finished dinner. I thought I'd check in before I go back down to get some more work done. How was your day?"

"Nothing exciting here. I fed those chicken like things and worked on the fence some more. I should have it done by the time we can afford to put something in it."

"Did you find any eggs?"

"Not a one. I am beginning to suspect that's why these particular chicken-ettes were donated to us."

"Chicken-ettes?"

"I thought I'd give that name a try."

Carter had to smile. She was glad his mood seemed a bit lighter. "That might work but it can't hurt to keep looking for other options."

"I'll keep pondering. What are you going to be working on tonight?"

"A special project."

"You've barely been there and you've already been assigned a special project?"

"You know how I like being assigned special projects. As a matter of fact I met you because of a special project. That special project made the last twenty years pretty awesome."

"Yes, it did. I guess you and special projects go together well. I am going to make some dinner. You get to that special project and check back in when you go to bed."

"That might be pretty late."

"That's ok. O'Neill out."

Carter went downstairs and sorted through the scrap parts looking for what she needed. It took four hours to inventory what she had and determine what she would need to buy. If Jamale made her some good deals it would still take more than two weeks pay to buy everything she needed. She let out a loud sigh and nodded. It was worth it. Maybe Jamale would let her pay in installments so she could still take some money home each week. If not O'Neill would get suspicious about her lack of income, especially with the additional work hours.

Carter spent one more hour organizing the scrapes she hoped Jamale would let her buy for next to nothing. She felt bad that she had worked so late knowing O'Neill was waiting up for her to call.

"Carter calling O'Neill."

O'Neill rolled over and picked the radio up off the bedside table. "I hope you got a lot done."

"I made progress."

"Still not going tell me what you're doing?"

"Nope." He could hear the giggle in her voice even though she held it back.

"Fine, but you know I'll find out one day."

"You will but only once I decide to tell you."

"That almost sounds like a challenge."

"Not at all." Carter fell back on the small bed. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm going to do some more target practice so day after tomorrow we can go hunting again."

"Bow and arrow hunting?"

"Yeah, I don't see any reason to waste ammo since we don't have much with us."

"Agreed. What are we aiming to snag?"

"I'd be fine with anything that we could put on our plates for dinner. I'm growing tired of dried everything."

"So you don't want some more of the jerky mystery meat?"

"Fresh mystery meat for me please."

"I'll ask Jamale if there is anything we should avoid hunting, since we don't really know the wildlife in these parts. I'd hate to waste our time tracking some bird that tastes awful or even worse is poisonous."

"Poisonous would be bad."

Carter smiled, "Yes, It would. We both better get some sleep. I mean there are only ten hours of night left."

"These nights do seem to go on for forever."

"Thirty-six hours makes a full day here and right now over twenty of those hours are at night. I have figured out Urabians sleep for about six hours, get up for three or four hours, and go back to bed for the rest of the night."

"Seriously?"

"I can't believe I forgot to tell you about that. They call it the night break. Most people have a small meal during the night break."

"Will you be joining Jamale for night break?"

"I hadn't thought about it actually. I wonder if he will expect me to show up. It can be a social thing but I don't think I will venture down. I didn't ask that much about it when the boys were discussing it the other day. Maybe I will learn more about it over the next couple of weeks."

"Great. You can learn all about Jamale's night breaks."

Carter sighed, "Don't be like that. He's been nothing but kind to us."

"I know. Sorry."

"We both need some sleep. I'll be home before dark tomorrow."

"All right. Good night."

Carter slept for nine hours, an unusually long time for her, but that still had her in the shop before Jamale and his sons. Jamale brought her some biscuits and juice for breakfast. He was impressed with how quickly Carter worked as well as her ability to think through a problem. He was getting his winter repairs done much faster than usual with her help and his customers were happy with the quality of her work.

Carter left work while there were a couple hours left before dark. Jamale always insisted that she leave while there was time to get home before dark because there are a couple large carnivores that lived in the area and hunted at night. She picked up a couple mini fruit pies and eggs on the way home.

"I'm home." Carter walked into a toasty warm house that smelled delicious.

O'Neill stepped out of the bedroom. "Dinner is almost ready."

"It smells wonderful. What is it?"

"Some kind of stew and rolls."

Carter knitted her brows. "Some kind of stew? You don't know what you put in it?"

"Not exactly." O'Neill smiled.

"Did you just close your eyes and put random stuff in a pot?"

"Actually it just appeared, being cared by a kind neighborly lady who insisted we should have it for dinner tonight."

"Does this kind neighborly lady have a name?"

"Morlin? Mortin? Marlin? Something like that. She had long red hair and four kids with her."

"I fixed her husband's tiller a couple days ago. It was very nice of her to bring this by. I will be sure to thank her if I see her."

O'Neill looked at Carter and grinned. "What do you have in your basket little red riding hood?

Carter glanced down at herself and giggled. She was wearing a large red shirt that had been donated to them. It did look a bit like a cape on her. "Fruit pies for dessert tonight and some eggs for breakfast."

"Yum. Sounds like we should get our eat on."

"Do I need to go feed the velorans first?"

"If you mean those chicken things I fed them already. Now get over here and eat some stew."

Dinner was as delicious as it smelled. The fruit pies were the perfect ending. As they were cleaning up after dinner O'Neill pointed out that the sprayer on the sink didn't work. Carter promised to add that to her to do list. They chatted for a while before O'Neill went to the bedroom and Carter curled up on the sofa. She had borrowed a couple books from Jamale's older son. One was about the history of Sanai, the planet on which Uraba was located, and the other was about animal husbandry. Sanai had been a monarchy until about 1000 years earlier. The transition to a democracy had been bloody but based on this book, which may or may not be bias, things had been running smoothly for hundreds of years. The maps in the book showed a few major cities on this continent, all a long distance off, and two other continents with an assortment of cities and towns. Uraba was in a large agricultural area along with two other small towns. Her approximation about the location of the gate made it look like it had always been in the middle of nowhere, which didn't make sense based on the usual locations they found gates, near large populations of people. She heard O'Neill tossing and turning. She assumed her light was bugging him so she snuggled under her blanket and called it a night.

The next morning they ate the eggs and dressed warmly so they could venture out to give hunting the Uraba way a try. Jamale had told Carter that everything that ran or flew was up for grabs as far as hunting was concerned. There were a couple animals that wouldn't be tasty but the furs would still be worth some money. He said if they smell bad after you kill them to not eat them. It seemed to make good sense.

They headed back towards the gate since they had passed through a large forest on the way to Uraba. It was a fairly quiet trip. They saw lots of small rodent like animals but nothing worth shooting for the first four hours, then they saw a large beaver like animal next to a stream. O'Neill took aim and fired. His practice paid off. It was a long walk back but they were both happy to have some meat for the table.

O'Neill skinned the beaver thing and Carter roasted it. She tossed in a few potatoes and carrots, or at least the Uraba versions. Dinner was delicious and there were plenty of leftovers. They decided hunting would be the new norm on the days Carter was home.

They quickly fell into a routine. Carter worked hard while she was at Jamale's shop and relaxed a bit when she was at home. She started each evening working on her star charts and usually got up early in the morning to do more of the same. Sam helped around the farm with the repairs and hunting but O'Neill took the lead on the farm. He read up on Uraba farming thanks to the books Carter had borrowed. He'd made friends with a few of the neighboring farmers and was listening to their advice. They had about two weeks before it would be time to prepare the fields. There had been a couple offers to help him prepare his fields but O'Neill knew his fields would have to come after their own. He had also been seeking out help deciding what to plant. Uraba's long year provided them two growing seasons and occasionally a third if the snows held off.

They ate a dinner that featured that day's kill, a rather ugly but tasty bird. They laughed about Daniel antics and wondered what was happening back home. After dinner O'Neill washed and Sam dried the dishes.

Sam pointed at the sink. "I fixed the sprayer if you want to use it."

O'Neill smiled, "Great." He pointed the nozzle at the pan he was holding and squeezed. A powerful stream of water hit the pan and reflected back all over O'Neill. He let go of the nozzle but the handle was stuck in the on position so streams of water were bouncing all over the sink, stove, wall, and O'Neill. Sam reached for the sink and turned off the faucet. She had stayed mostly dry while O'Neill had gotten soaked. There was water dripping off his eyebrows, nose, and chin.

Sam held out the towel she had been using on the dishes. "Oh, Jack! I am so sorry. I guess I gave it too much power."

As Sam reached out with the towel O'Neill's face darkened. "I think the nozzle should go back on your to do list Colonel."

Sam stopped in her tracks. He hadn't called her Colonel in weeks. Using her title now was a wall he was building between them. She had grown so use to calling him Jack when she was talking to Jamale and the townspeople visiting the shop that she had let it slip.

"I…I'll do that. I'm sorry." Sam placed the towel on the edge of the wet sink and backed up. "If you'll excuse me."

Sam turned away from O'Neill. Her throat was burning and her heart was racing. She could feel the burning in her eyes and she didn't want him to see her get upset. She took large steps towards the door, trying not to move too fast while also trying to get away as soon as possible.

He let her leave. He could have stopped her. He could have apologized but he knew this was for the best. He couldn't let them get too close. When they got rescued they needed to be able to go back to being General O'Neill and Colonel Carter.

It took Sam about forty minutes to collect herself and write the letter. Sam came back to the house and handed the letter to O'Neill.

"What's this?"

"My letter of retirement."

O'Neill's head popped up. "You aren't at that point."

"I beg to differ. I have in more than twenty years. I've even been a retirement planning meeting and this is the right time for me."

"It's not like I can submit this through the appropriate chain of command so none of this makes any difference. This changes nothing."

"It does for me."Sam picked up her blankets and took them back to the barn. She made a bed of straw in one of the many empty stalls. She was up early the next morning and off to work. When she came home a couple days later she got back early enough to be able to move a few more of her meager belongings out to the barn. She made a closet out of one of the storage rooms. The barn included a utility sink and a toilet. She wasn't planning to avoid the house or O'Neill but she felt like a bit of distance would be good for them both.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam had dinner ready when O'Neill got back to the house. Sam told him about the conversations she had overheard at Jamales about timing the granatia planting just right. She knew O'Neill was planning to plant granatia because it was one of the main money crops in this region. When O'Neill brought up a hunting trip the next day Sam said she wanted to stay close to home and get a few more repairs done but urged him to go out on his own. It was hard to eat because of the burning in her chest. The whole night left her depressed. He was her best friend and one word had come between them. She'd even given him an out and he still wasn't interested in her.

"Jamale is coming in the morning to drop something off."

"Something?"

"Yep."

"I don't get anything else, just something."

"Just something." Sam grinned. "You'll see."

She went out to the barn after dinner and worked on a small motor she had brought home. She was trying to make some small improvements without using any Earth technology to extend the life of the belts. In the end it just couldn't occupy her wandering mind so she gave up and got ready for bed.

O'Neill never asked her where she was going nor came out to check on her. He had seen her blankets in the stall and the shirts hanging in the supply closet. He assumed this was her version of getting her own place so he decided to let her have her space.

The next morning O'Neill woke up later than he had planned. He got up, made a quick breakfast, and dressed to go hunting. It had been getting a bit warmer the last couple of days so he wore layers that he could take off. As he stepped out of the house Jamale was pulling up. Jamale jumped out of the truck and walked towards O'Neill.

"Good morning O'Neill."

Jamale had something large on a trailer being pulled behind the truck. "Whatcha got there?"

"I think it is best if Samantha shows you since it is her surprise."

"I haven't seen her yet this morning. She might be in the barn.

They both made their way to towards the barn. As they got to the door they heard faint crying, a sound that made O'Neill's heart skip a beat.

"Carter? Is that you?"

Very faintly he heard, "Jack."

He moved toward the sound, which was coming from the stall where he had seen her blankets. Sam was laying on the straw in a tank top and shorts. She was covered in bruises and small needles. She was crying and moaning.

"Carter!" He knelt down beside and reached out.

"No." Her voice was a raspy whisper but fierce. "No touching."

"What the hell happened?"

"Some kind of caterpillar."

O'Neill reached out towards her. "No. No touching." She was really crying now. The effort of talking was making her worse. Sam's toes were pointed straight out and her fists were balled up. Tears were streaming down the sides of her face. O'Neill reached out and held her hand, which made her scream. He let go quickly.

"Sorry, Carter. Sorry."

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Carter."

"Find someone." Sam's eyes were fluttering open and closed. "I don't want you to be alone."

O'Neill swallowed. "I have you around to keep things exciting."

Sam shook her head, "I mean it. If I die make friends and find someone."

O'Neill grimaced, "You aren't dying and I got all the friends I need."

"Promise me."

"I don't know what you want me to promise and there's no reason for all this. You're going to be fine." O'Neill started to reach for her hand but stopped himself at the last second. "I need you to keep telling yourself that you're going to be fine. You need to believe it."

"I promise to be fine if you'll promise to not be alone." Sam looked up into his eyes.

He nodded, "I promise."

"Jack, we have to get her in my truck and take her to the clinic. I will go unhook the trailer so it won't slow us down."

O'Neill nodded. He knew Jamale was right but he also dreaded putting in Sam in pain, which is what he knew would happen when he touched her.

"Carter, I have to carry you to the truck." She shook her head no. "I'm sorry Carter but this is what has to happen." The tears got heavier.

Jamale stuck his head in the door of the barn. "The truck is ready. Do you want help lifting her?"

"No, I've got her. I'll sit with her in the back."

O'Neill slid his arms under her knees. She gasped and whimpered. His knees protested mightily as he lifted her and stood in one motion. Sam screamed. She turned her face into his shoulder to try and muffle her sobs.

O'Neill climbed into the back of Jamale's truck. He banged the side once they were in and Jamale took off. It was a bumpy ride. Sam cried out many times. O'Neill tried to keep her from moving around without holding her too tight but nothing he did seemed right. Sam was as stiff as a board, which made it hard to get her settled in his lap. He had never seen her in so much pain. She kept crying even though he could see she wanted to quit.

When they got to the clinic Jamale jumped out of the truck and went inside. When he returned he was accompanied by a tall thin woman. "I'm Leila, a lead healer. It looks like you lost a battle with a bunch of orlins. Let's get you inside."

A shorted man wheeled out a bed and O'Neill laid Sam on it. Leila and the man wheeled Sam inside to a room. O'Neill and Jamale followed closely.

"We are going to have to remove all these stingers." Sam's eyes widened. "I have some medicine that will make you very sleepy. That will let us get these stingers out without you having to feel it."

Sam nodded slowly and Leila kept examining her. "Based on the bruising I assume you were stung a while ago."

Sam nodded again. "Several hours."

O'Neill turned away and ran his hand through his hair. Jamale looked at O'Neill's back and scowled.

"Can you move your toes for me?" Sam slightly shook her head no. "It will hurt."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just need to see them move a little."

"Ok." Nothing happened. Sam's toes stayed pointed, just as they had been since O'Neill had found her.

"Good Samantha. Please wiggle your fingers." Sam's fists remained clasped.

"Ok. Thank you. I want you to drink this." The small man handed Leila a vial. "It will help you sleep while we remove the stingers and get you settled in a room. Hopefully you won't remember anything about the next few hours."

Sam drank the disgusting liquid. It took about three minutes for it to kick in. Her eyes rolled back in her head and closed.

As soon as Sam was out Leila turned on O'Neill. "I know you are new here but didn't either of you know to avoid orlins?"

Anguish was written across O'Neill's face. "Neither of us even knows what an orlin is."

Jamale stepped forward, "They are a poisonous insects. They inject the poison into their victim and then return after it dies to eat it."

O'Neill ignored Jamale and stayed focused on Leila. "She's gonna be ok, right?" Jack looked down at the now sleeping Sam.

"I don't know. I've never treated anyone who has been stung this many times." The bruises covering Sam's body made O'Neill ill. It was his fault that she'd been sleeping surrounded by poisonous caterpillars and he was mentally beating himself up.

"It will take us at least two hours to remove all of the stingers. The best use of your time is to take these vials back to your home and kill the orlins. Pour two vials into a spray bottle of water and soak everything around the nest. Pour one bottle straight down the nest and back up. Anything that manages to crawl past where you sprayed needs to be sprayed until it dies. No matter what happens don't touch any of them. One victim is enough work for one day. Burn everything you sprayed once they are all done."

O'Neill looked at the three vials in his hand. "I don't want to leave her."

"There's nothing you can do until we get done and I suspect if I let you hang around you will annoy us all. You seem like a man who is better tolerated if you have a job to do." Leila spun on her heels and leaned over Sam's bed. "Get out while I work"

O'Neill and Jamale backed out of the room. "I will drive you back and help."

O'Neill nodded and headed back to Jamale's truck. They drove in silence. They both jumped out and headed into the barn when they arrived. The nest was easy to locate. The orlins left an orange trail when they crawled and the boards in the stall beside where Sam was sleeping was covered in orange streaks. O'Neill picked up a spray bottle and filled it with water and two vials of the medicine Leila had given him. He walked over towards the stall with the orange on the wall.

"I assume Samantha has been sleeping in the barn on a regular basis." Jamale watched O'Neill spraying the hay around the wall.

"For the last few days, yeah."

Jamale picked up a rake and raked the straw into a pile around the nest. "Hopefully next time there is discord in your relationship you will ensure Samantha sleeps somewhere much safer."

"Samantha and I aren't in a relationship like you mean."

"She has told me that you are only friends but that is still a relationship and sleeping in the barn indicates there was discord."

O'Neill nodded. "Point made. I'm going to pour this in the nest. Back up."

As soon as he poured the vial down the center hole there was a skittering noise. The first few caterpillars that crawled out were twisting as they fell and died where they landed. The next group crawled a little distance after they landed but died before they made it off the straw. After about three minutes the caterpillars that emerged were able to make it past the soaked straw. Jack sprayed them until they were soaked. Jamale pushed them back towards the straw with the rake.

It was over in less than ten minutes. There were hundreds of caterpillars. Jamale raked the soaked straw and dead insects out into the yard. O'Neill pulled the boards off the wall of the stall and carried each board out to the pile Jamale had started. It took nearly thirty minutes to pile everything up and light it on fire. The drug turned out to be flammable so the pile went up quickly.

It took the two men just over an hour to eradicate the nest. As they finished O'Neill looked at the trailer sitting in front of the house.

"So what's under the tarp?" Jamale looked over at his trailer and sighed.

"I suppose it is best to show you so I can take the trailer back empty when I leave." Jamale walked over and took the tarp off of a tractor. "Samantha has been spending her evenings building this for you."

"Seriously?"

"Of course."

"How could she afford all of this?"

"She found most of it in the scrap yard. The parts she needed to purchase she bargained for. She is a tough negotiator."

"Yes she is. I can't believe she has been building this."

"What did you think she was doing with her evenings in town?"

"I knew she was working but I thought she was working for you."

"No, she was working for you. She knew you would need a tractor before the weather got warm so you could get your land ready for planting."

"Yeah, for me." An overwhelming sense of guilt encompassed O'Neill. "We should go."

"Agreed. I will back the tractor off the trailer and we can leave."

They were back at the clinic before Leila had finished getting the stingers out, which took longer than the two hours Leila had predicted. O'Neill paced just as Leila had expected. He asked about Sam every ten minutes and the staff grew tired of him quickly.

Leila came out to the waiting room an hour after O'Neill and Jamale had arrived. She made O'Neill sit down.

"We think we got all of the stingers but we will keep an eye on her to make sure. She had been stung all over but there were a smaller number on her left side."

O'Neill nodded. "She tends to fall asleep on her left side. Maybe the stupid bugs couldn't get there."

"That would make sense."

"So she'll be ok now?"

Leila leaned towards O'Neill. "I can't guarantee that. This poison causes muscle paralysis."

O'Neill's eyes widened but Leila shook her head. "The paralysis is temporary. The problem is the paralysis can stop her breathing or her heart."

"If that happens you can put her on life support until she's better."

Leila tilted her head to the right. "Life support?"

"A machine that breathes for you and keeps your heart beating."

"I'd love to have something like that but I'm afraid I don't. If Samantha stops breathing or if her heart stops there won't be much I can do."

O'Neill looked at his knees. "Oh."

"Samantha is still asleep but I expect her to wake up within the hour. Once she is awake I won't be able to give her as much pain medicine as I gave her when she arrived and she will be in a lot of pain. Although this poison paralyzes the muscles it over stimulates the nerves. She will feel like she is burning."

O'Neill kept his eyes down and shook his head. "Why no pain meds?"

"I didn't say none. I said not as much. The pain medication can slow down her breathing and heart rate. I can't risk that."

"Makes sense."

"I want you prepared for her to be in pain. Her bruising is also very bad. Her blood vessels are very leaky right now so she is bruising as she bleeds internally. I am giving her injections to help her clot. I've tried to match her blood type to give her a transfusion but so far I haven't found a match. I've never had that happen before."

O'Neill lifted his head. "That I can help with. I've given Carter blood before. We're a match."

"I will have someone come and get blood from you. If your blood is a match that will be helpful."

He nodded. "When can I see her?"

"She should be in her room by now. I'll take you there."

Leila led O'Neill and Jamale down a short hall. They turned right twice and stopped at the third room on the left. Leila opened the door. The room was dimly lit and an attendant was taking Sam's pulse.

"How is she doing?" Leila walked over and looked at Sam's chart.

"Her heart rate is 50 beats per minute. Her respiration rate is 8 breaths per minute."

O'Neill had moved to the far side of the room. He was standing right beside Sam's bed. "And that means?"

Leila glanced at Sam and then O'Neill. "That means her heart is beating slowly and her breathing is shallow and slow. Those aren't the signs I'm hoping to see."

O'Neill nodded.

Jamale leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "How long until we know she will be ok?"

Leila turned towards Jamale. "I am not sure. I've never treated someone with so many stings. Every hour is progress. For now I want her to wake up. Then my goal will be to get her vital signs back to normal. Until then either I or one of my staff will be in here with Samantha. You are both welcome to stay as long as you can behave."

"I think I will return to my shop for a bit. I need to check on my son's. I will return later in the evening." Jamale nodded towards Leila but ignored O'Neill as he left the room.

Leila turned back towards O'Neill. "I am going to have someone come in and take blood to test you as a match for Samantha."

"Good." O'Neill nodded. Leila stepped out for a moment and returned with another woman carrying all kinds of tubes and needles. O'Neill sat and she took two tubes and a bag of blood. She put a cotton wrap around his elbow when she finished and quietly left the room. O'Neill stayed in his seat and watched Sam. Leila took Sam's pulse almost every ten minutes. Her level of attention was actually making O'Neill more nervous.

Two hours later Leila was replaced by Amira who also took numerous reading about Sam's breathing and heart rate. After another two hours Amira was replaced by Jora. Eventually O'Neill lost track of how many people had been in the room. Leila checked in regularly. O'Neill was uncomfortable but getting up and pacing didn't help much. Eventually O'Neill nodded off in the chair.

He had napped for thirty minutes when a panicked voice roused him. The young man currently monitoring Sam's condition had his head stuck out the door as he called out, "Leila, her breathing has stopped."

Leila slid into the room, still at speed after running down the hall. She went to Sam's side and took her pulse. She leaned down so her ear was over Sam's mouth and watched Sam's chest. O'Neill's chest was tight as he waited for good news. Leila looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Oh hell no." O'Neill stood up and leaned over Sam. He stuck out the knuckles on his right hand and rubbed Samantha hard on her sternum. At first he didn't get a response but then Samantha gasped. Her eyes didn't open but she was breathing again.

Leila smiled and nodded. "Very nice. How did you know to do that?"

"It is called a sternum rub. It is very uncomfortable. In my first aid classes it was taught as a way to rouse someone after a seizure. Figured it couldn't hurt to try."

"It was very effective."

All O'Neill could do was nodded. He stayed standing for another hour, afraid Sam would stop breathing again but she kept on, slow but steady. Leila was clearly still worried but she did leave after a while to get some sleep. O'Neill managed to stay awake for about an hour.

"Samantha. Samantha, I need you to wake up." Hearing Leila call out Sam's name made O'Neill wake up quickly. He had been asleep for three hours. O'Neill's panic quickly calmed when he saw the look on Leila's face.

"What's up?"

"I'm sorry to wake you Jack but Samantha has been asleep for far too long. I really need her to wake up."

"It's ok. I'll be fine." O'Neill stood up and moved to the head of Sam's bed. He moved her bangs off her forehead. Her hair had really grown since they'd arrived. He wondered how often she usually cut her hair back home.

"Samantha, I need you to open your eyes. Come on. Wake up." Leila rubbed Sam's chest but her touch was too light to get a response.

"Rise and shine Carter. It's your shift." O'Neill used his deep commander's voice. Sam made garbled noise. "You heard me Carter. Get up." Her eyes fluttered.

Leila smiled at O'Neill. "Good job, Jack."

"Yep, it's just great that I can use her sense of duty to get her to wake up. I'm afraid it's my only trick."

Leila shook her head. "I doubt that." Leila rubbed Sam's arm, which caused her just enough pain to get her eyes open a bit further.

"Hello Samantha. It's good to see you again."

"Again?" The word was mumbled but both O'Neill and Leila understood her.

"It's ok if you don't remember meeting me when you came into the clinic. I'm going to pull the sheet off your feet. I want you to move your toes for me."

"Hurts."

"I know it hurts Samantha. I'm sorry. Once you answer a few more questions for me I can get you some more pain medicine."

"Ok."

Leila pulled the sheet up from Sam's feet to her mid-thighs. "Please move your toes."

Sam cried silent tears as she concentrated on her toes. Nothing happened. "Thank you Samantha." Leila started to pull the sheet back down.

"No."

Leila stopped. "No what?"

"No sheet. It hurts."

Leila's eyebrows lifted. "Ok, I can leave it folded up like it is. Can you move your fingers for me?"

Sam concentrated again but nothing happened. "Thank you Samantha. Do you think you could drink a little bit for me? I'd like for you to be awake for a bit before I give you more pain medicine, since it will put you back to sleep."

"Ok." Sam's eyes were still glistening. Her pain was written across her face.

"Jack's here." Leila looked across to the side of Sam's bed where O'Neill was standing a couple steps back. Sam's eyes shifted over to O'Neill. A small smile crept onto her face. O'Neill gave her a slight grin back.

"Hey, Carter." The smile left Sam's face. "Good to see you with your eyes open."

Sam's head nodded slightly and her eyes shifted back to Leila. "What's wrong with me?"

"You were stung by orlins. The poison in the stingers causes temporary paralysis and intense pain. I gave you a large dose of pain medicine so we could remove the stingers. The combination of the poison and pain medicine suppressed your breathing but I think that's behind us now. The poison has also left you with extensive bruising and some minor internal bleeding but thanks to a transfusion from Jack your blood volumes are back to normal."

"Temporary?"

"Yes, the paralysis should begin to go away quickly. I am giving you an anti-toxin to break down the poison so I expect you to be able to move again by tomorrow."

"Pain medicine?"

"I will give you some more pain medicine but smaller doses so we can wake you up every few hours."

"Thank you."

Leila injected the pain medicine into Sam's IV. It only took a few minutes for Sam's eyes to flutter and shut.

"Hopefully the worst is behind us. Why don't you go home and get a few hours of sleep, Jack."

O'Neill shook his head. "I'm fine." He sat back down in the chair and starred at Sam. His insides were twisted. Seeing her lying here hurt him and he blamed himself for her being in the barn. He wished he could have done something while she was awake to make her feel better.

Jamale came in a couple hours later. He was disappointed he missed Sam's brief period awake. He spoke with Leila before heading back to his shop.

O'Neill woke six hours later when he heard Sam's voice. "Hey."

Leila was standing beside Sam's bed. "Your breathing has really improved. Can you move your toes for me?"

Sam squinted a bit but nothing happened. "Ok, good. Now your fingers."

The squint returned. This time though her hands slowly unclenched and her fingers twitched.

"Excellent! Now that's progress." Leila beamed and Sam smiled a little. O'Neill breathed a sigh of relief.

"How's the pain?"

"Still very noticeable."

"More pain meds on the way. Any chance you could eat a little? I'd feel better if both of you ate some." Leila glanced towards Jack as she finished her sentence.

Sam missed the look Leila gave Jack. "I can try."

Amira brought O'Neill a sandwich and a shake of some type for Sam. Sam drank a bit through a straw before she fell asleep. Once she was asleep O'Neill ate his sandwich. He hadn't realized he was so hungry until he started eating. It wasn't even a great sandwich.

Leila came back in to check on Sam about fifteen minutes after O'Neill finished eating. "I hope you feel a bit better now that you have eaten."

"I do. Thank you." Jack looked towards the end of Sam's bed. "I was wondering why Carter has a black spot between her toes."

Leila's brow creased. "Which foot?"

"Her right one." Jack stood up and pointed.

Leila moved down and looked closely. She walked to the door and stuck her head out. "Sari, please bring me pluckers and a hand glass."

Sari joined Leila at the foot of the bed. "Please hold these toes apart." Sam moaned as Sari moved her toes. Leila used the magnifying glass and got close to Sam's toes. She removed something using the tweesers.

"We missed a stinger which was causing a large bruise. Good job seeing that Jack. Hopefully with that out her feet will begin to move again." Leila dropped the stinger in a cup Sari was holding. "Go home for a few hours and get some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"She's stable now. She's doing well enough that I'm going to go home and get some real sleep. You should do the same. She'll be here for several days and when she gets out she will need you well enough to take care of her. I can arrange a ride for you." O'Neill rubbed the back of his neck. "She won't be alone. I promise. Let me get you a ride."

"Fine." He felt bad relenting but he was tired and he knew trying to get more sleeping here wouldn't help. He also needed to feed the darn chicken things.

Some nice guy who was thankfully very quiet dropped O'Neill off. He fed the chicken things, made sure the orange bugs hadn't reappeared, and went to bed. He slept for twelve hours. He took a quick shower, grabbed a muffin, and headed back to the clinic. The walk was frustrating because it took so long but also calming because nature was doing its best to be beautiful. A few trees were just starting to bloom and the birds were singing loudly.


	5. Chapter 5

Leila had gotten back to the clinic before O'Neill. She checked Sam's latest blood work and frowned. Jamale was sitting in a chair beside Sam's bed. He stood as Leila entered.

"Good morning to both of you." Leila smiled. "I hope you slept well."

Jamale nodded. Sam gave a small tilt of her head. "Good. " Leila moved to the side of Sam's bed. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Better." To prove her point Sam wiggled her toes, twirled her ankles, flexed her fingers, rotated her wrists, and bent her elbows.

"Excellent. How is your pain level?"

"Tolerable."

Leila turned towards Jamale, who had been quietly watching the exchange. "Could you please excuse us?"

Jamale stood, "I should get to work anyway. I will return this evening. I hope you will be much improved when I return."

"Thanks Jamale." Sam grinned slightly.

Leila gripped the chart to her chest. "Your blood work shows signs that your kidneys and liver are struggling to clear the toxins in your system."

"And that means?"

"That means we need to lower the amount of toxin in your system."

" Isn't that what the anti-toxin has been doing?"

Leila shook her head, "Actually the anti-toxin is one of the issues, as is the pain medicine."

Sam's eyes widened as she realized what Leila was saying. Sam couldn't stop the tears. The pain was worse than she was letting on and the concept of less pain medicine terrified her.

"I'm sorry Sam but with less anti-toxin your progress is going to stall and some of the paralysis might come back but it will be temporary."

"And the pain?"

"It will get worse too. I am so very sorry but I can't risk having your kidneys or liver fail."

"I understand." The tears were stream down Sam's face. "Can I just be alone?"

"I'll leave you for a while but I am sure Jack will be here soon."

"No." Sam's voice was the strongest Leila had heard since she woke. "I don't want any visitors."

"Sam that might be a bit of an overkill. It would help you to have friends here."

"No. I don't want any visitors."

"As you wish." Leila frowned.

"I would also like to get some help rolling over onto my left side."

"I'll get Ajo and be back in a minute."

Leila and Ajo's helped Sam move onto her side. They put her right arm around a pillow and bent her legs. She looked comfortable even though the pain meds would soon be wearing off. Ajo put a sign on Sam's door that said no visitors allowed.

Leila was still in Sam's room when Jack arrived. He saw the sign, paused briefly, and walked in any way.

"Why the no visitor's sign?"

Sam turned her head into her pillow as he walked in asking about the sign. She didn't want him to see her crying.

"What's going on?"

"Let's walk out in the hall and talk." Leila walked over to O'Neill and put her hand on his arm.

"Like hell. What's going on?"

"As I said, we can go out into the hall and talk." Leila pushed on O'Neill's arm even harder. She stepped in front of him, opened the door, and gestured for him to leave. O'Neill glanced back at Sam curled up on the bed before following Leila out.

"So?"

Leila turned around to face a very irate and worried O'Neill. "Her kidney and liver function are showing signs of stress. The poison, anti-toxin, and pain medicine are all being processed by her kidneys and liver. In order to prevent her kidneys and liver from failing I am cutting back on the anti-toxin and pain medicine."

O'Neill looked back at the door. "And that means?"

"It means her paralysis might get a bit worse, but not bad enough to harm her lungs or heart, and her pain level will increase substantially." Leila had her hand on his arm.

"I should be in there with her."

Leila shook her head. "I'm afraid that is exactly what she doesn't want right now."

O'Neill was still looking at Sam's door. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Really? Would you want Sam watching you suffer?" O'Neill looked at the healer and frowned. "Exactly, I suspect you and Samantha aren't that different. I hope to be able to get her back on a full dose of pain meds in a couple days. This won't last long."

"Let me have just a moment." Leila tilted her head to the side and glared. "I promise. After that I'll leave without a fuss."

Leila nodded. "Only a couple minutes. She was very clear about doing this alone."

"I get it."

O'Neill quietly opened the door and stepped into Sam's dim room. She looked cozy lying on her side but he knew that was a ruse. As he got closer he could see the sheen of tears on her cheek.

"I'll be back every day to check on you and I'm going to put your tractor to good use. It looks fabulous." O'Neill stood there awkwardly.

He was backing towards the door when Sam answered. "Thanks for understanding."

"I'll be back tonight and tomorrow morning. When you're ready I'll be here." He stepped out into the hall and stared at the door. He took a deep breath and walked past Leila without even a thank you. She didn't take any offense. She knew he was upset so she was honestly happy that he didn't take it out on her.

He lived up to his word. He gave the tractor a work out and chopped some wood to work out his anger before returning in the late afternoon. When Jamale saw him walking back past the store after visiting the clinic he called out to get O'Neill's attention.

"I assume your quick return from the clinic means Samantha is still not accepting visitors."

O'Neill grimaced. "Word travels fast."

"I went by at midday."

"Oh."

"I know you will want to visit often and your walk is long. I thought you might like to use my son's bike. I had been planning to loan it to Samantha."

O'Neill jammed his hands in his pockets. "I don't mind the walk."

"We are close to planting season. You will not have much time to spare and you should not be traveling at night. A bike would cut your travel time in at least half."

"I guess that would be good. Thanks."

"Follow me." Jamale led O'Neill into the back of the shop. "My son hasn't used it for a quite a while but I cleaned it up. It should serve you well and Samantha can use it to get to work once she is better."

O'Neill pulled on the handle bars. "I appreciate this and thanks for getting Samantha to the clinic so quickly."

"I am glad I could help."

It had been a while since O'Neill had been on a bicycle and his knee protested a little but he was home before dark. The bike was a good idea. Jamale still got on his nerves but he appreciated his help and knew he needed to be nicer.

O'Neill was up early the next morning and rode the bike to the clinic only to be disappointed by the same note on Sam's door. He finished another field and tilled the garden beside the house before he got a shower and went back to the clinic. That dang sign was really making him angry and worried so he tracked down Leila.

"How's she doing?"

Leila looked up from her paperwork. "Most of her paralysis is gone, which is surprising since she is on fewer meds. Her pain level is high but her liver and kidney function is beginning to improve. I hope to be able to add back some anti-toxin soon."

O'Neill nodded. "When will she be able to take pain meds again?"

"Lowering the poison levels should reduce her pain so if she tolerates the anti-toxin tonight I will add back pain medication tomorrow. I don't like that she is in pain. My goal is to not only make people healthy but to keep them comfortable. I hate this too."

"I know you do and I know you are doing what is best for her. I just hate not being able to see her." O'Neill left the clinic and rode home, still wondering what he would be doing if Sam had let him stay. He knew he would feel just as useless in her room as he did on this bike but he would still rather be in her room.

On the third night he arrived at the clinic he was pleased to see Sam's door was open and the sign was gone. He tentatively walked inside. Sam was sitting up in bed eating something that looked like pudding. She looked so good it made O'Neill smile, something he hadn't done all week.

"Good to see you sitting up and eating."

"I am feeling much better. The paralysis is almost gone. I'm weak and sometimes my muscles seem to respond too slowly but this is still major progress."

Her bruises had turned yellow since he last saw her. He knew that meant they were healing but it made her skin look very sickly. "Is that pudding? I didn't know they had pudding."

"It isn't really as sweet as pudding but it is fruity, almost like peach but not quite. It has some kind of citrus tang to it. I like it." Sam grinned.

"I'm glad you like it. We'll have to get the recipe. So where's doc? She never seems to be far away."

Leila was standing in the doorway listen to their banter so she coughed quietly. O'Neill looked over his shoulder. "As I said, she's never far away."

"I assume you are pleased to see how well Samantha is doing today." Leila walked to the side of Sam's bed.

"I am tickled pink." Leila's brow creased in confusion. "That's a phrase we used back home that means heck yes."

"I see." Leila glanced at Sam's chart. "Your kidneys and liver are doing fine. I want you to be on a full dose of anti-toxin for one more day and then we will begin to taper that off. Once you are done with the anti-toxin we can begin discussing letting you go home."

Sam and O'Neill smiled. Leila left but stood just outside the door for a few minutes. She heard O'Neill sit and within minutes they were both laughing. Leila went home and slept well that night knowing Samantha was going to be just fine.

Sam threw O'Neill out before dark. He returned early the next morning but Sam made him go back home after a couple hours. She was really worried that the fields wouldn't be ready for planting if he stayed too long. Jamale visited while O'Neill was gone. Sam asked him for help picking out a variety of foods to plant and he readily agreed. Leila came in while they were discussing the different planting options.

"Good afternoon to you both."

"Good afternoon." Sam and Jamale spoke in simulcast which made Leila smile.

"Are you about ready to get out of here?"

Sam set up straighter. "Absolutely. It's not that I don't appreciate all you've done but going home and sleeping in my own bed would be great." Jamale looked away when Sam mentioned her own bed.

"I am sure that would be nice." Leila's face became very serious. "I do want to see you every day for the next week or so and I am not sure I would be able to make it out to your house every day. I also don't want you walking that far, at least not right away. There are a couple homes near the clinic that have rented out rooms to patients in the past in similar situations. Would you be opposed to me making arrangements for you to stay near here for a few days?"

Sam squirmed a bit. She and O'Neill were still receiving food as gifts and although she had earned some money working for Jamale much of it had gone into building the tractor and repairing the house. She hated the thought of spending what little they had on a room. Leila saw her hesitation.

"You are welcome to stay here a few more days if that is easier."

Sam was pursing her lips and pondering when Jamale spoke up. "You are also welcome to return to your room at the shop. You would be close enough to visit the clinic and if you were feeling up to it you could work on a few small projects, but nothing that requires heavy lifting." He cut his eyes towards Leila.

Sam looked from Leila to Jamale and back to Leila. "I'd prefer to stay at the shop as long as you are sure I won't be a burden Jamale."

"You have always more than earned your keep and I suspect you will do the same even while recuperating. I doubt I would even be able to stop you from working if I tried."

Sam smiled. "Work is therapy for me."

"In that case it is settled. I want to check your blood work one more time and then I will release you. It should only take a couple of hours."

Sam's eyes widened. "I really shouldn't leave without telling Jack."

"If you have been released before he gets here I will make sure he knows where you are."

Jamale stood. "I will get your room ready and make sure we have enough dinner so Jack can join us. I am sure he will be happy to see you have been released and get a home cooked meal at the same time." Jamale looked at Leila, "You and your family are also welcome to join us. It would give you a chance to make sure Samantha is doing well."

"I'd like that actually. I'll bring the bread and dessert."

"Excellent. We will make it a celebration." Jamale nodded at both ladies and left the room.

Leila tucked Sam's chart under her arms and smiled. "You have good friends."

"Yes, I've always been luckily in that department."


	6. Chapter 6

O'Neill was all smiles when he got to the clinic. He had remembered to bring Sam's ipod and he was looking forward to her reaction. He was shocked to find her room empty. He panicked at the sight of the bed without sheets. He ran back to the front of the clinic looking for Leila and scared a short blond assistant sitting behind a desk near the door.

O'Neill leaned down on her desk "Where is Leila?"

The poor scared woman looked up at O'Neill, "Are you Jack?"

O'Neill pushed up off the desk and stood up. "Yes."

"Leila said to tell you that Samantha has been released and you should join everyone for dinner at Jamale's shop. Please don't tell her I didn't catch you as you entered. I was supposed to tell you as soon as I saw you but I was reading and…and…"

O'Neill breathed a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thanks for telling me. It will be our secret."

The cute girl grinned slightly, still a bit scared. "Thanks."

O'Neill made his way over to Jamale's with a spring in his step. He was glad Carter was out of the clinic even if it required having dinner with Jamale. The shop was dark when O'Neill arrived but he could see lights around the back of the building so he walked around the corner. Two little girls were running around outside chasing what appeared to be a cat. The poor animal looked terrified and changed hiding spots twice while O'Neill watched. Two teenage boys were lounging in the grass and arguing about something.

"Jack!" Jamale headed across the yard. "I am glad you are here. Dinner is almost ready."

O'Neill pointed to the little girls. "I thought you only had boys."

"You are correct Jack. The other children belong to Leila and her mate Seema. They are also joining us for dinner."

The idea of meeting Leila's family made O'Neill grin. He liked Leila's determination and the girls both seemed to be bundles of energy. More people also meant less chance he would get stuck one on one with Jamale all night.

"Lead on my fine man. It sounds like we're having quite a party tonight."

Jamale nodded, "Samantha's good health and the arrival of warmer weather are both worth celebrating."

Jamale led O'Neill into the main portion of his house where Sam was sitting with Leila and her husband. The girls ran in after them and headed straight for Sam. The youngest girl started climbing up on Sam's lap. Seema quickly grabbed her as Leila started fussing.

"Samantha has just gotten out of the clinic today. I doubt she wants you climbing all over her."

"I'm afraid your mom is right. My legs are still a bit sore but maybe after dinner I can tell you a story."

The older girl jumped up and down. "We like stories about animals."

"An animal story it is." Sam looked up and saw O'Neill. "You found me."

"I did indeed."

Sam looked back at the girls. "The real story teller has arrived. His lap is also perfect for climbing."

Both girls spun around to take in the newest person to join the party. They both sized him and decided he was worth pestering. Leila let them grab onto his legs and begin asking for a story. O'Neill picked up the youngest girl and laughed.

Leila stood up and walked over to the girls. "Dinner first, then we can see if there is time for stories."

"Awwwww. We can eat and listen to stories. We're real good at eating and listening."

"You can prove that by eating and letting the grownups talk. If you behave well you can have pie and possibly stories."

Both girls looked at their mother and grew serious. "Yes, ma'am."

Leila bent down and kissed her older daughter. She held her arms out and took her younger daughter from O'Neill.

"Speaking of dinner let's fill our plates." Jamale led the way to counter which was piled high with food. His sons were already waiting with plates in their hands. Leila made plates for the girls. O'Neill made a plate for Sam. The children sat at the table in the kitchen while the adults sat on the sofa and chairs in the main living area.

The girls chatted about the cat that had managed to escape and find a hiding place out of their reach. The adults mostly talked about the upcoming planting season and weather, a major concern for all farmers. The boys attempted to chime in occasionally in the adult conversation but they eventually grew bored and started their own conversation.

After dinner the girls sat beside O'Neill, waiting for pie and a story. O'Neill was happy to oblige and told them all about Goldilocks and the three bears. Even the adults and teenage boys listen attentively. Leila and Jamale delivered pie to all the story listeners as O'Neill moved from the three bears to Cinderella. By the time his story finished Sam and the girls were having trouble keeping their eyes open.

Leila picked up her youngest and Seema picked up their older daughter. They carried them out to their small vehicle, thanked Jamale, and set out for home.

O'Neill leaned down over the chair Sam was sitting in. "It's time for us to head home Carter. You can barely keep your eyes open."

Sam looked up at O'Neill. "I'm sorry but I promised Leila that I'd stay in town for a week or so. She wants to be able to check up on me often. She wouldn't have let me out of the clinic if I was headed back to our house."

O'Neill stood up. "Oh. So where are you staying?"

Sam straightened. "Here, in the room where I stay between work days actually so not really in here." Sam's arms moved wildly pointing around the room.

"I see." O'Neill helped Sam up to her room while Jamale and his sons tackled the dishes. "Are you sure you'll be ok here?"

Sam nodded. "I'll be fine. I'll be home in a week or so. It won't be that long."

O'Neill rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. No time at all." He turned, trying to hide his scowl, and headed towards the door.

"Radio me when you get home." Sam hated to see him leave since she knew he was unhappy but she was too tired to discuss how they had ended up here.

O'Neill walked through Jamale's kitchen towards the back door. The boys were sitting at the table playing some kind of game. Jamale was out back beside his truck. The bike was already loaded in the back.

"It is too late for you to bike home. Let me give you a ride."

O'Neill relented, since he wasn't too keen on a long ride home and the bike was already loaded. The ride was quiet until the pulled up to the house.

"Samantha plans to come home as soon as possible. I do hope you plan on having a place for her to sleep other than the barn."

O'Neill scowled. It was a fair point but it still made him angry. "It's covered."

"Good. Please feel free to join us for dinner while Samantha is staying with us. Your company and stories would be entertaining."

O'Neill stepped out of the truck. "I'll consider it." He closed the door and Jamale drove off. He went in the house and looked around. Jamale was right about Sam needing her own space and a real bed. He spent a couple hours measuring and making plans before going to bed.

O'Neill was up early the next morning. He moved all the furniture in his bedroom and drew out plans on the floor for the wall he planned to build. Sam's room was smaller than his but that was the only way to keep a window in both rooms. Neither of them had many belongings so he decided to make the wall between the rooms into a small closet they could share. That would let him open up what was a closet on the far wall in her room. The entrance to the bathroom was in his room but they could make that work too. He was pleased with his plans, now all he needed was some wood and nails.

He finished his second and last run through the third of the three fields, got a shower, and headed to town. He went to Jamale's to check on Sam. He heard her politely laughing when he entered. She looked in his direction as he entered and her face got a little brighter.

"I came by to talk plants, figured it was about time to invest on our farm." Jamale joined the conversation and within an hour they had a list of supplies needed for the first and second plantings. Jamale, Sam, and O'Neill piled in the truck and went to Marl's store. They were able to pay for about one third of the seeds they needed and Marl let them open a credit account for the rest of their supplies, including the wood and some nails.

Jamale dropped Sam off at the shop, the afternoon out had visibly worn her out and a nap was in her immediate future. He took O'Neill and the supplies back to Sam and O'Neill's home. He helped O'Neill unload, looked over the plans for making two rooms out of the current bedroom, and then took O'Neill back to the shop so they could all have dinner. The boys hinted multiple times about wanting more stories so O'Neill told them all about Superman. Jamale gave O'Neill and the bike a ride home after dinner.

O'Neill took the wood and nails into the bedroom and started working as soon as he got home. He remembered his promise to talk to Sam at bedtime so he quit working and pulled out the radio.

"O'Neill to Carter." He waited a moment but didn't get a response. He thought she might already be asleep or she could still be talking to Jamale. That thought made him very angry. Jamale was free to be affectionate with Carter, unlike O'Neill. "O'Neill calling Carter."

"I'm here. Sorry it took me so long to answer. I was brushing my teeth."

"I'm glad I caught you before you went to sleep."

"My nap this afternoon gave me some extra energy. I'm still wide awake actually but Jamale won't let me keep working."

"Good for Jamale."

"So what was all the wood for? Some kind of repairs? Did something happen while I was vacationing?"

"You call that a vacation? We need to work on your definition of getting away from it all for a while."

"Does that mean you aren't going to tell me what you are up to?"

"We can both keep secrets, at least for a little bit."

"I guess we can. Has the tractor been working ok for you?"

"It's wonderful. You did a great job. I'm really impressed."

"Good. I knew we'd need it. If we missed the first planting we might not have enough food to make it through next winter without more help."

"You really are convinced we aren't going home aren't you?"

"Yes I am. My star observations haven't led me to any conclusions about where we are located. Now I'm going to have a gap in my observations too. I doubt these two weeks would have given me any big break through but I hate having a gap."

"If you could figure out where we were would that help you get us home?"

"I doubt it."

"So why keep staying up late and getting up early if knowing won't get us home?"

"You've met me, right? I have this insatiable need to collect data and answer questions, even if I can't solve the problem in the end."

"That drive has saved me more than once and I am counting on you coming through for us again."

"I hate to disappoint you but…"

"Then don't. Once you get home you can get back to collecting your data and one day you will get your eureka moment."

Sam sighed. "Right, my eureka moment. I wish it was that easy."

"Get some sleep Carter."

"I'll try. Are you going to start planting tomorrow?"

"My goal is to finish field one and the garden next to the house."

"That's a lot for one day. I'll understand if you don't make it to dinner."

"You sure?"

"Yes, but we'll still talk tomorrow."

"Absolutely."

The reprieve from needing to go to town meant O'Neill had time to plant the first field, part of the garden, and put up some of the studs in the bedroom. It was one of the most productive days he'd had since arriving in Uraba. He slept well, after having a nice chat with Sam, and woke ready for another busy day. His knee was protesting a bit but he ignored it and moved on to field two.

He ditched the garden and new wall to get cleaned up and head back into town. He arrived in time to help peel the potatoes. He talked shop with Jamale until Sam and the boys closed the shop and came in for dinner. Sam told him about Leila's midday visit. She was glad to see Sam was able to perform minute movements with her hands and her balance had improved. She was well on her way to being fully recovered.

Jamale dropped O'Neill off early enough that he was still able to work on the wall for a couple of hours. One of the benefits of the long nights was extra time to work. Another benefit was feeling like you got to sleep in every day. After two more days the wall was done and O'Neill got the furniture put back in place. The problem he had not solved was getting a second bed.

The next night when he was getting a ride home with Jamale he mentioned the second bed issue. Jamale smiled and passed the turn to O'Neill and Sam's house. He pulled up in front of the house that Sam and O'Neill had decided not to take.

"Nobody is using the bed in here. If someone moves in we'll work it out."

Jamale jumped out of the truck. O'Neill thought the plan was brilliant so he followed Jamale into the abandoned house. It only took them a few minutes to lead the bed into the truck. Jamale helped O'Neill move the bed into Sam's tiny bedroom before he headed home.

All the fields were planted by the time Jamale dropped Sam off at home two days later. O'Neill had dinner ready when she walked through the door. They both invited Jamale to stay but he declined the invitation because he needed to get home to his sons.

O'Neill served dinner to Sam and insisted that she not help clean up at all.

"I'm not an invalid."

"I get that but you can let me pamper you a little."

"Tonight only. Tomorrow things go back to normal."

"If you insist. Are you ready to see that surprise?"

Sam scooted forward in her chair and sat on the edge. "Absolutely."

"Now don't go getting too excited. Come this way." O'Neill led her into the bedroom door. "Go on in."

Sam opened the door and turned on the light. She immediately noticed the room was much smaller. She walked in and went through the opening in the wall between the rooms. The second room was smaller but there was enough room for a bed and a chair.

"We'll have to share the closet and there's still only one bathroom but I thought this might give you some privacy and keep you out of the barn stalls."

Sam turned around to face him. She was beaming. "Thank you so much. I know this was a lot of work. This is great."

"I know it's really small…"

"We've both had smaller. I love it."

"There's only one overhead light and it is in here so I put a camping lighter beside your bed. We can work on getting you something better and I'll get you a dresser too."

"Stop fretting. This is great." She wanted to hug him but she knew better. Her words didn't seem like enough but she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He helped her make her bed and he gave her an extra blanket. Both rooms shared the geothermal heat but he still worried her room would get cold.

He let her have first dibs in the bathroom. She took a long shower and brushed her teeth before she went to her room. She had brought home a couple of new books so she curled up and read while he got ready for bed.

O'Neill turned out the light in his room. "Your light won't bother me so feel free to read as long as you like."

"Not a problem. I can sleep." Sam turned out her light. The large moon was shining in her window. It made the room very bright.

"Good night."

"Good night."

They were both a bit restless and the bright moonlight didn't help. They tossed and turned and tried to ignore that they could hear the other person was also awake. O'Neill was the first one who fell asleep. Once she could hear his soft rhythmic sleep breathing Sam slipped out of bed, put on some warm clothes, and went out to do some star gazing. After a couple hours she was tired enough to go back to bed. O'Neill heard her sneaking back in but he stayed quiet.

The next morning Sam insisted on going out to the fields so O'Neill could explain what he had planted where. She was pleased to see he had labeled the rows in the garden next to the house. The chicken-ettes had started laying eggs after a neighbor had brought over a rooster. It turns out the females will only ovulate if there is a male nearby. Once the neighbor realized they didn't have a rooster they donated one to them. The eggs made their mornings much sunnier.

Sam went back to her old routine of spending two days on the farm and two days working in Jamale's shop. She was happy the bike made the trip so much faster. Jamale had made a few upgrades to the bike, which made it ride smoothly and gave her the ability to carry more goods home. Half of her paycheck each week went to paying off their bill at Marl's and the other half was split between buying food and purchasing supplies for the farm. Uraba didn't have a banking system, since most people owed so much to Marl by the end of winter that a savings account seemed like a silly concept. Marl did let people pay ahead though so it was a little like having a bank account.

Sam's ability to figure out what was wrong with any kind of machine and get it fixed quickly had made her very popular among the farmers in Uraba. She had also been asked to help repair a couple of the vehicles, something else she managed well. Word spread that although she lived with Jack they were not a couple, making her an eligible maiden. A couple of the eligible bachelors became regular customers, especially Jorl and Rint. Jamale began to suspect the Jorl was purposefully breaking the belts in his tractor just to have a reason to come in each week. He always request Sam's help and chatted her up as she worked. She seemed oblivious to the attention.

By the time the first harvest was ready Sam and O'Neill had managed to buy a couple pigs, a cow, and a horse. Jamale told Sam to stay home for harvest week. With her help all of the major repairs had been completed well before harvest week so the only customers he expected would be for emergency repairs. He knew he and his sons could handle that and Sam was needed on the farm.

Sam and O'Neill spent the whole week harvesting, drying, canning, and preparing the fields for the second planting. Sam had borrowed books about food preservation, which turned out to be a hot and messy job. She had also put headlights on the tractor, which gave O'Neill about another useable hour a day in the fields. Their hard work paid off. By the end of the week they had enough food preserved to get them through a moderate winter and fresh vegetables for the first time since they arrived on Uraba. They each discovered new favorite foods and a couple they preferred to skip.

There were very few people in town during the week because everyone was spending all their daylight hours in the fields and their nights preserving the harvest but on the last day of the week the town came alive. Everyone gathered for a huge midday feast to celebrate a successful first harvest. Sam had made a huge salad for the feast. O'Neill teased her a bit since salad was her usual contribution at SGC gatherings. Sometimes she made a regular salad and other times it was a fruit salad but it was always a salad.

O'Neill found a place to sit near Leila's family. The girls were thrilled to see their favorite story teller and quickly started begging for a new story. O'Neill was happy to oblige. He went with Snow White this time and it was a big hit with the girls and the adults. A small band started about an hour after everyone finished eating. Jamale was the first to ask Sam to dance and she happily obliged. Jorl was the second man who asked to take her on a spin around the town courtyard. Despite numerous attempts Leila was unable to get O'Neill to dance. Her daughters even tried but he insisted that he didn't dance. Sam knew that wasn't true, he had been a popular dance partner at the annual military ball, but she wasn't going to tell on him. If he had a reason to say no she would let him keep that to himself. Many of the men who had met Sam through her work at Jamale's asked her to dance. O'Neill disliked seeing her spinning in the arms of all these men but it was when she danced with Jamale that his heart felt like icicles were forming between his cardiac muscle cells.

The party broke up about two hours before dark. O'Neill got hugs from both of Leila's girls before they got in their vehicle. Jamale, Jorl, and Sam were talking next to one of the last tables being cleaned off. O'Neill swallowed the bile climbing up his throat as he saw Sam genuinely laugh. It was one of those laughs where her head actually tilted back. He hadn't seen her laugh like that in a long time and it hurt that men other than him could induce that laugh. There was a time when she laughed for him but he had pushed her away, for her own sake.

Sam saw O'Neill looking at her and felt guilty, even though she knew that was a ridiculous response. They'd had a good day with their new friends and there wasn't anything wrong with finding pleasure in this new life. It wasn't her fault that he was unwilling to accept their inability to get home. She picked up the now empty bowl they had brought and joined O'Neill for the walk home. They stopped a couple times on the way home to pick some wild berries. Sam collected a bouquet of flowers too.

Weeks passed with Sam spending her evenings at home reading while O'Neill worked at the woodworking bench he had set up in the barn. Sam was working on a hay tedder and a bailer for the tractor when she stayed the night in town. The third planting was usually reserved for making hay to get the animals through the winter and she wanted them to be ready.

They were a couple weeks from the second harvest when Sam woke early, snuck through O'Neill's room and started making a big breakfast. It was the smell on bacon that woke O'Neill. He brushed his teeth, used the bathroom, and headed for the main living area.

"Is that bacon?"

Sam smiled, "The Uraba version, yes. Marl was having a special and I picked some up."

O'Neill made his way over to the stove. He saw bacon, eggs, and what appeared to be cinnamon rolls. "What's the special occasion?"

Sam turned away from him and looked back down at the stove. "I can't just make a big breakfast?"

"You can but you never have before."

"True. Happy Birthday."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes." Sam started plating up the eggs and bacon. She handed a plate to O'Neill and he picked up one of the gooey hot rolls.

"Well ok. I didn't realize so much time had passed."

"Shorter days back home so a year there is a little more than half a year here."

"And you've been keeping up with it?"

"Of course." Sam made her own plate and sat down at the table across from O'Neill.

"Kinda thought you'd given up on home." He nudged his eggs.

"There is a difference between giving up on going home and knowing we can't get back. I've thought about ways to locate Earth but we don't have the materials I need and even if we did I could spend my whole life trying and never succeed."

"Right." O'Neill ate bacon and stared at his plate. "Thank you for my birthday breakfast."

Sam gave him a lopsided grin. "You're welcome."

"I've been thinking that since things are under control here I'd like to hike out to the gate."

Sam tilted her head to the side. "The gate? Why?"

"I want to leave some kind of note or something to say we're here and I guess I just really want to see it. I'd been thinking it was time to go and now that I know we've been here for ten Earth months it feels like I've been derelict in not going before now."

"I can go with you."

"No. Somebody needs to stay here with all these animals that we've collected."

"It will take you at least three days to get there and back. You really shouldn't go it alone."

"I'll be fine. I'll even do a bit of hunting on the way back. I'll stay in radio contact."

"When do you plan to leave?"

"I assume you're headed back to Jamale's tomorrow."

"That was my plan."

"I'll leave the day after you come back home."

"Do you want me to pick you up any supplies before I come back?"

"I think I have everything I need but I will double check today."

Sam stood up and turned towards the sink. "Alright."

He could tell her shoulders were stiff. "Thanks again for breakfast."

"You're welcome." Sam washed her plate and headed to her room. O'Neill finished his breakfast, cleaned his plate, and headed out to the barn. Once she heard him leave Sam came out and cleaned up all the dishes from breakfast. She missed having a dishwasher. Sam spent the day working in the garden while O'Neill went between the fields and the barn. There was no other mention of O'Neill's trip to the gate at their midday meal or dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

O'Neill left before the sun was up. Sam had double checked his pack even though he insisted he had everything he needed. She wrapped up a couple personal pies and added them to his pack as a surprise. He'd only been gone an hour when she radioed him.

"Carter to O'Neill."

"O'Neill here. Is something wrong?"

"Nope. I just wanted to make sure the radios are working."

"They seem fine."

"Good. They should be able to handle the distance but I'll keep checking in with you just to be sure."

"Gotcha."

O'Neill pushed it hard on the first day. By the time the sun went down he was within a couple hours of the gate. He made camp in an open field. He built a small fire with wood he had collected as he went through the forest. It wasn't a cold evening but the fire was still a comfort and it let him warm up his dinner. He was pleased to find the pies Sam had snuck into his pack. She knew him well; a thought that depressed him as much as it cheered him. She was the only person on this planet that understood him and he couldn't let her in. If he let her in he'd never be able to let her go and when the rescue team showed up letting her go would be the only way to not derail her career.

He picked up his radio. As promised Sam had been calling him every couple of hours. It was his turn to call her first. "O'Neill to Carter."

"I'm here. Have you set up camp?"

"The fire is going and the tent is up. Thanks for the pies."

"Save one for tomorrow."

"I knew you'd say that."

"Did you already eat them both?"

"Ummm…no."

"Yes you did. It's amazing how little self control you have when pie is involved."

"I have to save my self control for things that are more important than pie."

"More important than pie you say. Interesting. How close are you to the gate?"

"A couple more hours I'd say."

"Wow. You made it a long way in one day."

"Figure I can get there, check things out and start back by midday. That way I can come back a bit slower, hunt a bit as I go. I'll stay in the forest tomorrow night and be back the day after before dark."

"Sounds good."

"Are you already outside working on your star charts?"

"I guess you know me about as well as I know you."

He laid back and looked up at the night sky. "Yep. That either means we are both very predictable or we've spent too much time together."

"I'm going to go with predictable."

"So which of these stars are you gazing at tonight?"

"I try to so a full sky survey each night and monitor the direction the constellations move."

"Constellations?"

"Yeah, the Uraba have names for them and I've been learning those but I've also been making up my own names."

"Such as?"

"Octopus."

"Octopus?"

"I didn't say they were super creative or fancy names."

"Right, so I assume octopus looks like an octopus."

"That is my theory."

"So where is your octopus?"

He heard Sam sigh. He assumed there was a head shake that went along with that sigh. "Look towards the mountains and find the highest peak."

It was hard to see the far off mountain range in the dark but he had a general idea where it was. "Ok."

"Go up about thirty degrees and look to the right of the mountain peak." She paused to give him a chance to find the area. "There is a semi-circle of stars that make a rainbow shape. Rainbow was the first name I gave it but then I noticed the lines coming out along the bottom of the rainbow. There are only six lines instead of eight but it was still close enough to be an octopus."

Jack searched the sky while she talked and then he saw it. "I found it. Octopus is better than rainbow with legs."

"I thought so."

They spent an hour locating different constellations. O'Neill even threw in a few name change suggestions that Sam promised to consider.

"Thanks for all your help tonight. I'm going to go in and have a late dinner. I'll check in again before bed."

"Alright. If I find any other sea creatures or holiday decorations, another of Sam's favorite constellation themes, I will let you know."

"I get the feeling you are making fun of me."

"I would have thought you would have named these constellations after science stuff instead of animals and holiday decorations, just saying."

"I love the holidays and animals are part of science."

"I guess." He snickered. "Later." He laid there for a few more minutes coming up with his own constellations then he heard a howl in the distance. The howl got his attention so he sat up and added some more wood to the fire. The howl was far off and he wanted it to stay that way.

"Calling O'Neill."

He picked up the radio. "I'm here."

"Find anything else interesting?"

"I had the beginnings of an elf but I couldn't find his feet. Feet seem important."

"When you get back you're going to have to show me this partial elf."

"Yes, ma'am, a partial elf it will be. How was your dinner?"

"I made a sandwich. I really like that nut spread Shanese brought over last week. It is a bit addictive I'm afraid."

"Tell me about it. I used it for a couple of the sandwiches I brought with me."

"I guess I should ask for a recipe and we can add those nuts to our list of things to plant next year."

"We could start a tree grove between fields two and three. I bet we could get a few trees planted before the third harvest. Even if we aren't here when the trees start making fruit and nuts they'd be useful to someone."

"That sounds fine if we have the time. I just hope the snow holds off long enough for us to get a few more things to can for winter and enough hay for the animals."

"Hay needs to be our main priority."

"Agreed, but for now our focus needs to be this second harvest. The corn looks great and I'm excited about the peppers."

"Excellent, thanks for checking the fields."

"No problem. Call me if you need anything. I'll keep the radio by my bed."

"Will do. Good night."

"Good night."

Sam had trouble getting to sleep. It was too quiet in the house without O'Neill's soft snoring and she didn't like him being out alone. Jamale was so insistent about not being out at night because of the carnivores that neither she nor O'Neill had ever seen. They had heard howls and seen carcasses but the animals themselves remained a bit of an enigma. Worry finally gave way to sleep.

O'Neill slept soundly, despite the occasional distant howl and potential movement in the grass that he decided was his imagination. He got up slightly after the sun, ate a quick breakfast, packed away his stuff, and headed to the gate. He was disappointed to see the gate was still lying down. Grass was growing in the hole formed by the swoosh so he assumed there hadn't been any swooshes since the trip that landed them here months ago.

He put his pack down and sat on the pedestal. He needed to see there hadn't been any gate activity to confirm what Sam had been telling him all along. He removed two small square wooden signs from his pack. He had written SG1 on both sides of the squares and put an arrow on each side. He threw one into the hole. As long as that sign remained in the hole he would know the gate had not been activated since his last visit and he planned to visit once or twice a year from now on. He propped the other sign at the base of the pedestal with the arrow pointing towards town.

He didn't stare into the hole for long, it was too depressing. With his pack back on he headed back towards the woods. He had his midday snack at the edge of the woods. Once he was done eating he went into hunting mode. He hoped for at least one big kill so they could store some meat for winter as well as have one heck of a nice feast. He wondered if Sam would insist on inviting people and being social. Her time working in town had let her make a lot more friends than him. Of course she was just more approachable. He might agree to be sociable if Leila and her family were on the guest list. He enjoyed telling the girls stories.

He was well into the woods as night descended. He was disappointed that he hadn't seen anything worth shooting all day. He had let a few of the smaller fluffy creatures get away because he was aiming higher. As he ate the last of his sandwiches he decided he would change his approach tomorrow. He hadn't had an unsuccessful hunting trip yet and he had no intention of coming home empty handed tomorrow, even if all he brought home was a few small things.

He couldn't see any constellations that night and Sam was more interested in hearing about the gate than the stars. "It was the same as when we left it."

"I'm sorry."

"I guess you can say I told you so."

"That isn't what I'm saying."

"I know. Sorry."

"If they open the gate we'll be able to pick up the radio signals. Your trip has confirmed that for me. I had been assuming the radios would work this far out but now we know it."

"I guess that's a positive." The tone in his voice didn't match the words. His disappointment hurt her. She had quickly known there wouldn't be a rescue so she had opened herself up to this life. He was still very much clinging to Earth and nothing she said or did was helping him let go.

"Have you had any kills yet?"

"Nope. All around bust of a day."

She was sorry she even brought it up. "Tomorrow will be totally different."

"I know it will. I'm pretty tired. Mind if we cut it short tonight."

"Of course not. Good night."

"Good night."

She hated hearing him so defeated. She knew he went through spells that often involved a liberal amount of drinking but he always came out of it, usually because he was needed at work. Perhaps the key to helping him accept life on Uraba was making sure he knew he was needed. She spent her night working on locking pulleys, which would help them lift the hay into the loft once it was harvested.

O'Neill heard even more movement in the forest that night. He hoped by morning he'd be able to find at least one of those critters to bring back as dinner. He slept for brief periods but spent too much time lying awake, much like Sam even though she was hours away from him.

With the morning light came a new resolve to bring home dinner and make Uraba home. Seeing the gate empty should have been like closing a door but if he was being honest with himself he knew the door was still partially cracked open but he hoped he might think about it a little less. He packed up and headed home, a word that seemed more real today than it had a couple days ago.

About three hours into his walk he saw a deer that he was able to bring down. He pulled out a folded up cart that Sam had made for him. The cart came complete with wheels and since he was so close to home he wheeled the deer home to be prepared. Sam helped him skin the deer and cut the meat. They made a couple steaks for that night, a roast for later in the week, and as he expected a large roast for after the second harvest so they could invite over their friends. The rest of the meat was either frozen or made into jerky.

The steaks were delicious. Sam made potatoes and salad to go with the grilled steaks. She also had a fresh fruit salad for dessert. She told him all about the new baby chicks and pigs that had been born while he was gone. They were expecting a new calf soon also. O'Neill had been the one dabbling in animal husbandry by borrowing a bull and penning up a rooster with a couple of the chickens every few days. Sam contributed by building an incubator for the chicken eggs and nursing one of the piglets that was rejected by the mother.

The day after O'Neill returned Sam went back to Jamale's. The shop was filled with machines needing repairs and the second harvest was almost upon them. Customers were getting anxious. Since she had been home for three days she felt it was only fair to stay at Jamale's for three days. She got a little extra work done for him the first night and then worked on her hay tedder and bailer. The tedder was ready and the bailer was close to complete. Hopefully if she could finish the bailer next week they'd have everything they needed to finish the third harvest in a couple months.

It was her second night in town and she was laying in bed reading about the geothermal energy that heated most of the homes and buildings. She checked the clock in her room and was surprised to see it was so late. O'Neill usually called her much earlier than this. She picked up her radio and called him.

"Calling O'Neill." Sam waited ten minutes and tried again. "Carter calling O'Neill. Please respond." The lack of a response made her sit up. "Seriously, please respond. This isn't funny." She gave him five more minutes before she tried again and still didn't get a response.

Her feet hit the floor and she grabbed her clothes. She slid into her pants and put on her shirt while slipping her feet into her shoes. She didn't want to wake Jamale so she left him a note saying she had to go home. She got on her bike and raced through the night. She kept calling O'Neill on the radio but she never got an answer. At one point the light on the front of her bike made a pair of eyes shine in the ditch along the road. Sam gulped and hoped those eye belonged to something small. She peddled faster. When she was about half away to the farm the rain started. The rain and the wind got heavier as she rode on.


	8. Chapter 8

When she got to the farm the barn was lit and the house was dark. A shaft of light was coming through the barn roof. Sam dropped the bike and headed for the barn. There was a pile of wood, including a large crossbeam on the floor of the barn. Part of the roof had fallen in and O'Neill was under it all. She started moving debris off of him.

"Sam?"

The sound of her name surprised her. "I'm here."

"It was so loud. I think it was a tornado."

"I'll get you out of here in a minute."

"You can't lift this." He patted his hand on the crossbeam that was lying on his chest.

Sam looked around. She got a rope and her pulleys. She tied the rope around the beam and used the pulleys to give her leverage. She was only able to lift the beam a couple inches but the pulleys locked as intended and she placed some wood under the beam. She released the locks and pulled the beam up a couple more inches. That was enough for her to be able to pull Jack out.

She used a cart to get him to the house. They were both soaked by the time she got him inside. She sat him in a kitchen chair and started removing his shoes and then his shirt. He had a wound on his head and his chest was already bruising. She put her hands on his chest and he gasped in pain. His ribs might be broken, which made her worry about a collapsed lung or internal bleeding.

"I'm fine."

"That's the head wound and male bravdo talking. You're clearly injured."

"Head wound?"

"You have a big lump and a cut."

"Oh."

"I'm going to get the first aid kit. Stay where you are."

"Ok."

When Sam returned from the bathroom Jack was trying to stand up. "I told you to stay put."

"You did?"

Well that confirmed the head injury theory. "Yes, now stay sitting so I can wrap your ribs and clean up that cut."

"Ok." He sat back down and grimaced as he hit the chair.

She gave him some gauze and had him hold it to the cut on his head as she turned on some lights. She wrapped his ribs first and then she cleaned the cut and closed the wound with steri strips. She helped him up and walked him to his bedroom. She unbuckled his pants and let them slide down before he sat on the bed. She pulled the pants off and took off his socks while she was at it. She piled up some pillows and helped him sit back. She got out an oxycotin and brought it to him with a glass of water.

"Take this and try to rest."

"Where are you going?"

"The barn. I need to check on the animals."

"We have animals?"

"We do. Now rest. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Ok."

Sam went back out to the barn and was surprised to find that the animals were all fine. Most of the damage was over Jack's workbench not the stalls. Once she knew all the animals were secured for the night she went back to the house.

Jack was asleep so she took off her wet clothes, picked up his wet clothes and hung them up to dry. She washed off in the sink and came back to check on him. His bruising was still getting worse. She knew it might take a couple hours to see the full range of his injuries. His breathing was shallow but steady and it sounded even on both sides so it looked like he had escaped a collapsed lung but she was still worried about internal bleeding and a concussion.

She gave him about another twenty minutes to sleep and then she touched the side of his face. "It's time to wake up." He didn't move. She rubbed his shoulder. "I need you to wake up for me."

"Sam." Hearing her name again was a shock.

"Yep, it's me."

"I have a headache."

"I bet you do. You probably have a concussion."

"Why?"

"You were under a big beam that fell in the barn."

"Barn? Why was I in a barn?"

"I think you were taking care of the animals."

"Animals?"

"It's a long story but for now you can go back to sleep."

"Where are you going to be?"

"Right here."

"Good. I like that." He closed his eyes again. Sam set an alarm to wake them both in two hours. She curled up beside him and watched him sleep. She had just dozed off when the alarm rang. She sat up and looked at him. His face was pale and his muscles were slack. She pulled back the covers and checked his abdomen. There were some small bruises. She pressed on his lower abdomen and it felt normal. She decided to leave his chest alone since it was wrapped. His head wound wasn't bleeding any more but the knot was larger than a golf ball.

"It's time to wake up again." She shook him gently. He moaned a little but didn't wake up.

"Wakey wakey." She sang it in his ear but still got no response.

She got a wet washcloth and came back into the room. She placed the wet cloth across his forehead. She groaned. She moved it to his neck and he reached towards it.

"Hello. How are you feeling?"

"Cold and wet."

Sam removed the wash cloth. "Sorry. I needed to wake you up."

"How about try wake up next time."

"I'd been there and did that. Talk to me for a few minutes and you might earn some more pain medicine."

"So how did a smoking hot babe like you end up in a gin joint like this?"

"Gin joint?"

"Yeah, no really, where are we?"

"We're home."

He looked around the room. "Home?"

"Our new home, Uraba. We've been here for almost ten months."

"That's a long time. Why don't I remember?"

"You hit your head."

"Oh."

"What is the last thing you do remember?"

He squinted. "Jello. We were eating jello with Jackson."

"Ok." That told her next to nothing about how much of his memory he had lost.

"Can we have jello again soon?"

"We haven't found anything jello-like here but I'll keep my eyes open."

"Your eyes are so beautiful. They are so blue and shiny."

She sucked in her breath. "Thank you." She so wished it wasn't his head wound talking.

"How about I get you something to drink?"

"Ok." He smiled.

She went to the kitchen and poured him a glass of milk. By the time she got back to the bedroom he was asleep. She put the glass of milk back into the refrigerator. She reset the alarm, curled up next to him again, and went back to sleep.

Two hours later Sam woke him again. It took several tries to wake him but she didn't have to resort to cold water.

"Hey there." She smiled at him as his eyes open.

"Hey. My head is killing me." He started to sit up and groaned. He grabbed for his ribs. "Awwww."

"I think your ribs are broken."

"Pretty damn sure you got that one right. Dang it." He lay back on the pillows.

"Would you like some more pain medicine?"

He sighed. "In a minute. What happened?"

"You were in the barn when part of the roof fell in. A crossbeam fell on you."

"That sounds bad."

"It looked pretty bad but you're doing fairly well considering."

"I don't feel like I'm doing fairly well."

"I meant compared to how bad it could have been."

"If you say so."

"How about you stay awake long enough this time to drink a little milk. I'll be right back."

"This time?"

"Yeah, we've done this a couple times already tonight." She rolled off the bed and went to the kitchen. She was pleased that he was awake when she same back. He took the drink and winced as he lifted it to his lips.

"Do you need some help?"

"I got it." He took another sip.

"I'm going to poke on your belly a bit. Let me know if it hurts."

"Why?"

"I want to be sure you don't have any internal bleeding."

"How would poking me tell you that?"

"If your belly gets rigid or you're in a lot of pain you might have internal bleeding."

"Oh. Did you ever poke someone on facebook?"

She pushed on his lower right abdomen. "You know about facebook pokes?"

"Well duh."

She pushed on his lower left abdomen. She moved up and around his upper abdomen and was satisfied that everything still felt fine.

"I think I poked Cassie a few times but I never really understood the point of it all."

He finished his milk and handed the glass to her. As she leaned over to put the glass down he poked her in the ribs. "Poke."

She jumped in surprise, which made him laugh but his laughter was cut short by pain. He grabbed his ribs. "Ahhhhhh."

"No laughing."

"Got it." His face had paled a little as he grabbed his ribs.

"It's past time for more pain medicine if you'd like it."

"Yeah, load me up."

She took his glass, rinsed it out, filled it half way with water, and brought him a pill. He swallowed it quickly and handed her back the glass. She sat it beside his bed.

"Do you want anything else right now?"

"Can you lie back down beside me while I go to sleep?"

"Of course."

"I like waking up and seeing you there. That was always one of the perks about being off world."

Sam's head tiled to the right and she grinned, "Really?"

"You look like you're thinking even while you sleep. I suspect you never stop thinking."

"Some of my best ideas come to me at night."

He shook his head slightly. "Of course they do. My nights don't tend be that productive."

"You look peaceful when you sleep."

Sam laid down beside him so he turned his head to look in her direction. "You watch me sleep?"

"It seems only fair since you watch me."

"We really are sad." His eyes were drooping.

"Sad?"

"We watch each other sleep," He was slurring his words, "but we never talk about it." The it came out in a hiss and he was asleep again.

"You're right ,that is sad." She ran her fingers through his hair. Even here he had been keeping it short. She'd let hers grow out. She set her alarm again, curled up beside him, and fell asleep.

Two hours later the alarm rang and Sam groggily rolled over. She turned off the annoying alarm.

"I assume that means it's time to get up."

Hearing him wake up to the alarm made her happy. "Good guess."

"It's still dark outside."

"You're right. I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep."

Sam didn't set the alarm again. She knew the sun would be up soon and that would be enough to wake her. She slept well for almost three hours before the sun shining on her face roused her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Moving the bed was enough to make Jack moan.

"Sorry. I guess you're awake."

"I am now."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Not so much. Can you turn down the lights a bit?"

Sam looked up at the window. The curtains were thin and up until now that hadn't been an issue. "Let me see what I can do about that." She went to their shared closet and got out a blanket. She draped it over the curtain rod. It helped make the room dimmer.

Jack opened his eyes a little. "Is the room spinning or is that me."

"I'm afraid that's you. You have quite a knot on your head. I think you have a concussion."

"Not my first. I'll be fine in a few days."

"I'll make you some breakfast."

"Just some toast. I suspect nausea is going to be an issue."

"Toast it is."

He was able to eat a whole piece of toast and take another pain pill before he fell back asleep. Sam took a shower and went out to inspect the barn. She stepped over and around the debris in the barn until she could get to the food stored in the back. She fed the animals and headed back to the house. She made herself a small breakfast and checked on Jack.

She gave him another hour then she made him a fruit smoothie and took it to the bedroom. She sat it beside the bed and sat on the edge of the bed beside him. "Time to wake up."

"Ummmmm." It was mostly a groan with a bit of a moan.

"Would you like some help getting up?"

"Getting up?"

"I figure by now you need to use the rest room."

His eye slid open."Now that you mention it I guess I do."

"I'll put my arms behind you and give you some help up. You swing your legs over the side."

He groaned as he moved. She supported him the whole time and he leaned forward once his feet were touching the floor. He took a moment to catch his breath.

"I've broken a lot of bones over the years but ribs always seem to bother me the most."

"At least with ribs you can still get a shower, broken arms and legs making showering a real pain."

"True. True. Although I think for today I'll be skipping the shower."

"Makes sense. Are you ready to stand up?"

"As ready as I can be."

Sam stood in front of him and gave him his arm. He pulled up to a bent over standing position. He couldn't straighten but he was able to hobble to the restroom, with Sam acting as a crutch. He stopped at the door.

"I'm good from here."

"You sure."

"Quite positive. If I need you I'll call."

He pushed the door behind him and grabbed for the sink. Sam closed to door. She straightened up the bed and got him a fresh glass of water to go along with his smoothie. She raced back to the bedroom when she heard the bathroom door open. She helped him back to bed. She added a couple more pillows so he could sit up more. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and groaned. There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Sam sat on the edge of the bed. "I made you a smoothie."

"Thank you. What's in it?"

"The pink stuff and yellow stuff."

"Colored stuff?"

"That's what you call them. The rest of the planet called them mari and jinny berries."

"Ran out of strawberries and bananas?" He took a sip and grinned. "Not bad actually."

"These are two of your favorite berries here."

"Here is?"

"Uraba. We've been here about ten months. You were hurt when part of the barn roof fell in during a storm last night."

"How many times have you had to tell me this?"

"Only a couple."

"I hate concussions as much as I hate broken ribs."

"Reasonable but again you can still shower with a concussion."

"You're really hung up on that showering thing."

She giggled. "I guess I am."

"So we live here together?"

"Yes."

"We've made a cozy little home here, huh?"

"We're doing ok. We have good friends and our farm has been successful so far this year. After this harvest we should have enough food to make the winter."

"So this storm that took down part of the barn roof didn't hurt anything else on our farm?"

Sam's head started to race. She'd been so preoccupied with Jack that she hadn't thought about the crops. "The animals are fine but I haven't checked the fields."

"Based on the look on your face I am thinking you should do that."

"You'll be ok?"

"I'm in bed and I have a smoothie, what could go wrong?"


	9. Chapter 9

Sam went out to the first field. It was a complete loss. That was the field of hay, which they had planted to ensure they had some food for the animals even if the third harvest didn't work out. The other two fields were still in good condition. Those fields included plants that resembled corn, beans, potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, squash, pumpkins, and a variety of berries.

Sam felt defeated as she walked back to the farm. She decided she should plow field one and replant hay. If she started now they should be able to get it harvested well before the weather turned cold. Walking back to the barn didn't improve her mood. The tractor was fine but she was going to have to clean out the debris before she could get the tractor out.

She went back in the house and found the smoothie empty and Jack asleep. Since he was resting Sam headed back out to the barn. She tied ropes around both ends of the crossbeam, which seemed to be salvageable. She arranged a series of pulleys from the roof over both ends of the beam and started pulling.

"Samantha?" The voice calling her name from outside the barn sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it. She stopped mid-pull and went outside. Saff, Jamale's oldest son, was walking towards the front door of the house.

"Hey, Saff. I'm back here." He turned to face her.

"My father sent me to see if you are alright. He was concerned when he saw you were gone this morning."

"I'm sorry. I left a note. When Jack didn't answer me last night I knew something was wrong so I raced out here. Turns out part of the barn roof fell on him."

"Is he injured?"

"He has at least a couple broken ribs and a concussion but I think if he rests he'll be fine. I can't leave him though and I have to get the barn fixed, plow one of the fields, get the second harvest in, and start the third harvest." She shook her head. "That means I won't be back to the shop for a while. Please apologize to your father for me. I know he needs help but right now I have to stay here."

"Of course you have to stay here. Family always comes first. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sam looked behind her at the barn. "Actually there is one thing. Follow me."

She showed him how to use the pulleys. They took separate ends of the beam and pulled it off the ground. Sam tied additional ropes to the beam and moved it to one side of the barn. She hoped it would be salvageable but for now her concern was getting it moved. Once they had it moved over to the side they slowly let it down.

"Thank you. It would have been much harder to do alone."

"You are welcome. I would be happy to stay and do more." He looked around the barn and back up at the hole in the roof.

"I appreciate that but your father needs your help and I need to check on Jack."

"If you're sure. I'll let my father know what happened. I'm sure he will insist on sending me back out to help."

Sam smiled. "I appreciate it, really, but we'll be fine."

"If you say so." Saff got back in the truck and headed home. Sam went back into the house and woke Jack up. She told him about the hay field and her work in the barn. He was disappointed about the field but agreed that replanting now was the best option. Sam brought some cheese and crackers into the bedroom along with some cider and fruit.

"I hate just laying here while you do all the work."

"I know you hate it but you don't really have much choice right now."

Jack's eyebrows raised and lowered, "I know. Pisses me off though."

Sam handed him some cheese. "Eat something."

He took a bite of the cheese. "I guess this is supposed to be like a picnic except its dark and we're inside."

"I hadn't planned it that way but if thinking of it like a picnic helps you feel better than I am all in favor of it." Sam sipped her cider. "This cider is wonderful. I need to remember to take some berries over to the Hilars to thank them."

"Yeah, do that."

Jack's mood was getting more sullen. He had never been a good patient plus he felt like a useless burden as Sam talked about all the work that needed to be done. It didn't help that every breath hurt and his head was pounding. He couldn't keep his thoughts straight.

Sam cleaned up and went back out to the barn. She wished there was more she could do for Jack but he needed the quiet to rest. She started at the front of the barn and made piles of materials that could be salvaged and those that needed to be trashed. After three hours of hard labor she was ready for a break and decided she should check on Jack again. His room was still dark but the faint light curling around the edges of the curtain let her see him. His facial muscles were tight so she knew he wasn't really sleeping or comfortable.

Sam got herself a drink and sat down on the edge of the bed. The movement roused him.

"Good afternoon."

He mumbled something she didn't understand.

"I didn't catch that. Sorry."

"Hey."

That she understood. "I thought you might like to use the restroom."

"Ugh. I probably should but I don't really want to."

"I'll help."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better."

Sam stood up and leaned over so she could support Jack as he sat up. He swung his feet over the side of the bed and groaned. He sat there for a moment to let his head stop swirling. Sam waited patiently. He nodded when he was ready and she gave him her arm as a support. She was waiting for him when he opened the door. They chatted a bit after she helped him get settled but his head was swimming so he quickly grew tired of trying to keep up. Sam gave him another pain pill, even though they were running low, and went back out to the barn.

As evening was settling in she had made two fair sized piles, one of materials she thought could be salvaged and the other of trash. She'd be able to get the tractor out tomorrow. She was just getting ready to bring in the animals and feed them when she heard vehicles pull up. When she stepped outside she was surprised to see two trucks and Leila's car. Jamale jumped out of the first truck, followed by both of his sons. Jorl was in the second truck.

Sam put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Good evening."

"Good evening Samantha. My son said your barn had sustained some damage. We came to see if we could help."

"Thank you." Sam looked up. "I've been cleaning up but I don't think I can get it repaired without help."

"I heard Jack was injured." Sam turned towards Leila.

"He has a concussion and broken ribs."

Jamale pointed towards the barn. "Let Jorl and I examine the barn. You ladies go see to Jack."

Sam showed Leila inside. Jack's room was pitch black since no light was coming in around the curtain. He wasn't snoring so Sam assumed he was awake.

"Leila is here to examine you. I'm going to turn on the lamp by the door."

"K."

Sam turned on the small table lamp. Jack squinted and turned his head away. Leila walked into the room and stood next to the bed.

"May I open your shirt?"

"Yeah."

Leila unbuttoned Jack's shirt. There was bruising around the edges of the bandage Sam had put around his chest. Leigh felt his ribs. He squirmed when she got close to the two broken ribs. She felt his abdomen to make sure there weren't any obvious signs of internal bleeding.

"It looks like Samantha did a great job wrapping your chest. I see no reason to change your bandages right now. I assume the light is bothering you."

"Very much."

"Headache?"

"Pounding."

"What day it is?"

"I have no clue. How long has it been since the storm?"

Sam stepped forward. "That was yesterday."

"Seriously? This day seems to have dragged on for forever."

Sam nodded slightly. "That's what happens when you nap all day."

Leila looked back and forth between the two of them. "It looks like you are in good hands Jack. I don't see any reason to bring you to the clinic but I will be back in a couple days to change your chest bandage. I want to get a look at your bruising."

"Yes, ma'am."

"If he begins coughing, throwing up, running a fever, or gets more confused bring him in immediately."

"Will do."

"I'll turn off the light and let you rest. The best thing for a concussion is plenty of rest." Leila went over to the small table by the door and turned off the light.

"Rest it is."

Leila stepped out of the room.

Sam walked over to the side of the bed. "I'll bring you some dinner in a little bit."

"K. Thanks."

Sam joined Leila in the living area. "So?"

"He'll be fine." Leila rubbed Sam's arm. "I suspect he isn't going to be an easy going patient since he's going to be fairly miserable for a week or so. I'll leave you a few vials of pain medicine. Give him half a vial every six hours during the day and a whole vial every six hours at night to help him sleep. Don't take on too much around here while also taking care of him."

"We'll be fine. Thanks for coming out here to check on him."

"I really will be back soon."

Sam smiled. "I know."

When the ladies walked back outside they found that the men had compiled a list of supplies and planned to return tomorrow to fix the roof of the barn. Sam thanked everyone as they left. She double checked that the animals were fed and secured before going back into the house.

She made some mashed potatoes and grilled chicken-ette breasts for dinner. She took in a small plate for Jack. She used the light from the living room to cast a soft glow into his room, which was better for him than turning on a light.

"Hey, I brought you some dinner."

"Thanks."

Sam sat the plate on his lap. "You cut up my meat for me?"

"I thought that would be helpful."

"It is. Thanks." He picked up a piece of the chicken and slowly chewed.

"And it makes you feel like a little kid. I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't be so sensitive."

"Looks like we are going to be getting some help with the barn roof tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Jamale and Jorl have a plan. They'll be coming back tomorrow."

"That's nice." Jack was squinting and after three bites of chicken he had stopped eating.

"I'm going to get the first field plowed and hopefully get seed out tomorrow."

"Good."

"I know you feel miserable but maybe you could try a couple bites of the potato. I'll feel better if you eat a bit more."

Jack started to nod but as the pain spiked in his head he stopped. He took two bites and laid down the fork.

"Leila left some pain medicine. Any chance you'd take some tonight, just to help you sleep?"

"I slept all day."

"Not really. Your eyes were closed and you slept some but you mostly laid here in pain."

"You could tell, huh."

"I've known you for over fifteen years. Of course I could tell."

"Fifteen years seems like such a long time."

"It's certainly been exciting."

"Just exciting?"

"Exciting isn't enough?"

"I guess it is."

Sam handed a vial of pain medicine to Jack. "Drink the whole thing. It tastes nasty but I brought you some candy for after."

It was as awful as she said but the peppermint like candy helped. Sam took away the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. When she came back about fifteen minutes later the groggy look on his face told her the medicine had kicked in.

"Feeling any better?"

"Better than what?"

"That pretty much answers my question. Maybe it's time to get you ready for bed."

"I like that idea." Jack grinned. "Bed."

Sam shook her head. "Come on. I'll help you up."

He was unsteady on his feet but he held on to Sam, the door, or the sink the whole way. Sam used this reprieve as a chance to collect a couple books for the night. She was back before the bathroom door opened. She helped him get settled back in bed.

"You're all tucked in and I suspect the pain meds are going to let you sleep tonight. I'll check on you in a couple hours."

"You aren't going to say in here with me?"

"I can if you'd like."

"But you don't normally sleep in here?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"This is your room. My room is next door. You built the wall so we could each have our own room."

"Oh." Jack glanced at the wall.

"Could you stay and talk for a bit?"

"Of course." Sam walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"How long have we been here?"

"About ten months."

"No word from home at all?"

Sam shook her head. "None."

"How long until you think we'll be rescued?"

"I don't think we're going to get rescued."

"Ever?"

"No."

"Oh."

"We've done well here. We have good friends and I think we'll have enough food to get through winter comfortably."

"And us."

She looked him in the eye, to be sure what he was asking. "We're friends."

"Just friends?"

"Yes."

"Is that my fault?"

Sam shook her head. "It's just how it is."

"So, yes." Jack reached out and put his hand over Sam's. "No matter how I've acted it isn't because I don't care."

Sam's breath hitched and her throat burned. "Thank you."

"Thank you?"

"For telling me."

Jack squeezed her hand. "I mean it."

"I know."

"Your face doesn't seem to match that sentiment." Sam looked away. "Why?"

Sam stood up. "I'm sorry."

Sam picked up her books and headed towards her bedroom. She heard Jack as he whispered. "Me too."

She wished it wasn't his concussion and the pain medicine talking. She knew he felt that way once, many years ago, but that was the past. He had forgotten whatever had made him change his mind but she knew eventually he would get better and remember. Until then she needed to find a way to not let it make her want to run far away. She read for about an hour and then looked in on him. He seemed to be sleeping soundly. She climbed into her own bed, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

She only woke him once during the long night. She gave him some more pain medicine and he quickly fell back to sleep. She watched him for a few minutes and then crawled back into her bed. The sun woke them both. Sam gave Jack a half dose of pain medicine as soon as she got up in the hopes that would take the edge off his pain before he started moving around.

She went through her morning bathroom routine and then went to the kitchen to make some toast and hot cider for Jack. By the time she got back to his bedroom he was ready to get up and go to the restroom. He was stiff but moving better than the day before. Sam went back to the kitchen to make herself some granola and hot cider. She heard Jack open the bathroom door and rushed back to give him some support to get back into bed. He waved her off and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed.

"I made you some toast and cider. If you'd prefer something else I'd be happy to get it for you."

Jack shook his head slightly. "Nah, that sounds good." He sat on the edge of the bed slumped over.

"Would you like help getting situated back in bed?"

"No, I just wanted to sit here for a minute." Jack sat there for a couple minutes and then started scooting back. Sam moved over and held the pillows up as he leaned back. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Sam handed him his cider and plate of toast. She went back to the kitchen and brought her breakfast into his bedroom.

"I'm going to get the field mowed today. Hopefully I can get it sowed too but we'll see."

"The tractor pulls a bit to the right."

"Maybe I can fix that later."

"I'm sure you can. Just be careful."

"I will be. I'll take a radio with me and leave one in here with you."

"Good idea."

Sam cleaned up quickly and brought Jack a large glass of water. She put the radio beside his bed along with some pain medicine. "I'll be back to make you some lunch. If you need anything before that just call me."

"I'm neither an invalid nor a baby. I'll be fine. Go, till, sow."

Sam grimaced at his false enthusiasm. "I'm going. Be good."

"Yeah, yeah."

Sam had no trouble getting the tractor out of the barn and out to the field. It did pull to the right, which annoyed her mightily. If she hadn't gotten sick as she was finishing it she might have realized it pulled and been able to fix it earlier. She had been tilling for a couple hours when Jamale and Jorl arrived with a few friends in tow. Sam left the tractor in the field and came down to the barn.

The men were already settling up their supplies and getting organized when Sam got to the barn. "Good morning to you all."

Jorl was the first to reply. "Good morning to you Samantha. Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Thank you. It looks like you guys brought lots of help." Sam looked around the yard at the three vehicles and the six men and that got out of them.

"It should only take us about half a day to repair the roof. You need not worry yourself at all. We will handle everything."

Jamale walked up as Jorl was telling Sam everything was under control. "I agree with Jorl. You can go back to tilling and we will work on the barn."

Sam nodded. "If you insist. I'll check on Jack and get back to work."

Sam quietly snuck into Jack's room and found her creeping around was unnecessary since he was wide awake. "How are you doing?"

"It sounds like the troops have arrived."

"Is it too loud for you?"

"It's worth it. We need the barn fixed."

Sam rubbed his arm. "Ok, but if it gets too bad take a full dose of meds and try to sleep through it."

"Will do."

Sam filled his water and brought him some fruit before heading back to the field. She finished the tilling in time to come back and make a large lunch. All the men appreciated the sandwiches and fruit Sam brought out to the barn. Jack picked at his sandwich but finished off the fruit.

The men finished the barn roof a couple hours after lunch. Sam was sowing hay in the field as the men pulled out. She waved as they pulled away, sorry she hadn't been able to say thank you again. Jamale and Jorl pulled over and got out of their trucks so Sam stopped her work and came over.

Jamale smiled as Sam approached. "Your barn is better than before the storm."

"Thank you both."

Jorl smiled. "You are welcome Samantha. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you. I would be happy to help you with the second harvest."

"I appreciate the offer but you have your own fields to tend. I'll be fine."

Jorl looked very disappointed. "If you change your mind please let me know. I would be happy to help you."

"I appreciate it Jorl." Sam turned her attention to Jamale. "I am sorry I won't be at work for a while. I really wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Jack until he can get around better."

"Of course you cannot leave him yet. Once your harvest is in and Jack is feeling better you can come back. Do not feel any need to hurry. Thanks to all the hard work you have already done we have been keeping up with the orders as they arrive. If we get a little behind it won't hurt anything."

"Thanks again." Sam shook Jamale's hand and smiled. The men got in their trucks and Sam went back to sowing the field. It was almost dark when she finished and headed back to the house. She put some stew on the stove and bread in the oven to warm up. Once the food was started she went into Jack's bedroom.

He looked at her and grinned as she walked in. Her clothes and face were covered in dirt. The only part of her that was clean was her hands, because she had washed them before putting dinner on to warm up. "How did it go today?"

"It was fine. The tractor does pull but I managed. Hopefully getting the field planted this early means we won't have any trouble getting the hay harvested before the cold sets in."

"Good. That will keep all the animals happy. You are a filthy mess."

Sam looked down at herself and laughed. "Guess I am. Let me fill your water glass and then I'll get a quick shower." Sam took his glass and returned with it filled with cold water. She grabbed her yoga pants and a long shirt and headed for the bathroom.

Jack couldn't help but stare at her when she came out of the shower all clean and wet. Her hair was slicked back and she seemed to glow. The yoga pants, one of the few clothing items she brought from Earth, hugged her curves beautifully. She smiled at Jack as he stared at her.

"What?"

The sound of Sam's voice shook Jack from his trance. "Huh?"

"You were looking at me funny."

"Oh, sorry."

Sam shook her head and went to the kitchen. She served up dinner for both of them and brought it into Jack's room. She sat everything on the small table just inside the door of his room.

"Tomorrow I'm coming out to the table to eat."

"If that's what you want but tonight you're enjoying your soup and bread sitting right there."

Sam brought a chair in and sat beside Jack's bed. They both enjoyed the soup and bread although Jack still wasn't eating much. Sam decided not to fuss since he had spent all day resting. Sam cleared the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, and moved the chair back to the dining table.

Sam came back in and sat on the edge of Jack's bed. "Have you had any pain medicine lately?"

"It's been several hours but I'm not quite ready to go to sleep yet. We could talk for a bit?"

"Of course we can."

Jack rubbed the far side of his bed that was empty. "Why don't you sit over here? It's more comfortable."

Sam laughed. "Yes, it would be." She stood up and walked to the other side of the bed. She sat gently on the bed and scooted up so she could sit back on a couple pillows. She told Jack about the barn repairs and her work on the field. He asked a few questions but mostly listened. Sam's eyes grew heavy as she talked and her speech slowed. Jack grinned as Sam stopped talking and fell asleep. He knew she had worked hard on top of not sleeping well, thanks to taking care of him. He went to the bathroom, turned off the light and climbed into bed. He used his extra blanket to cover Sam up.

They both slept all night. Jack's sore ribs woke him early in the morning, before the sun broke through the widow. Jack looked over at Sam and smiled. She was beautiful and her hair was long enough to fall over part of her face. He moved the strand off her face and concentrated on the shape of her nose and curve of her cheeks. Pain encouraged him to stop staring and find medicine.

He went to the restroom, took half a dose of pain medicine, and brushed his teeth. As he sat back down on the bed Sam woke up.

"Good morning beautiful."

"Hmmm? Oh, I guess I fell asleep."

"Yep. It was adorable."

"Oh, I'm sure. I bet I drooled or something."

"Nope, no drool."

Sam rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. "I'm glad I didn't drool. Give me five minutes in the bathroom and I'll get us some breakfast."

"Sounds good."

Sam hurried through her morning routine and headed out to the kitchen. Jack was sitting on the semicircular sofa looking slightly miserable.

"It's good to see you out here but you don't look comfortable."

Jack shifted a little. "I could be worse and the pain medicine will kick in shortly."

"If you say so. Are you feeling up to some eggs this morning?"

"That sounds good. Do we have any juice to go with them?"

"As a matter of fact we have your favorite, the pink stuff."

"Pink stuff it is."

Breakfast was ready quickly. Sam gave Jack his plate and cup then went back for her plate and cup. She settled on the sofa beside him.

"I still miss coffee."

Sam giggled. "You were always grumpy until you had your coffee."

"Grumpy?"

"Oh yeah, not as bad as Daniel, but still grumpy."

"Good thing I got over that."

Sam's lips twitched.

Jack looked at her. "What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You almost laughed."

Sam moved her eggs around on her plate. "But I didn't."

"Are you saying I'm grumpy in the morning?"

"Not at all. You're a regular teddy bear."

Jack pouted. "I don't feel like you're being sincere."

Sam laughed out loud.

"Are you laughing at me now?"

"Of course not." Her laugh simmered down to a giggle. "I'd be laughing with you except you can't really laugh right now." Her eyes were twinkling.

"Nice, hit a man while he's down."

Sam stuck her lower lip out. "Awwww, I'm sorry."

"You're still not being sincere."

Sam giggled again. She cleaned up and came back to the sofa. She sat cross legged and looked at Jack.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm glad to be out of the bedroom. What are your plans today?"

"I'm going to go feed the animals and then I thought I'd come entertain you."

"Isn't there anything else you should be doing?"

"I could find something to do if I'm just going to be annoying you."

"I'd like the company if you're sure."

Sam stood up. "I'm sure. I'll be back once I'm done in the barn."

Jack closed his eyes and laid his head back while she was gone. When he woke Sam was sitting beside him reading. He watched her eyes move as she read. He loved her eyes.

"Whatcha reading?"

Sam smiled at him. "Children's stories. I borrowed them from Leila. I was curious how your stories compared to the typical Uraba story."

"Can you read one to me?"

"Of course." Sam flipped back a few pages as Jack closed his eyes again. The story was about a young boy who was lost in the woods. The first man he met was dressed in a fine suit. The man traveled with many servants who took care of all of his needs. The boy asked for directions home and the man told him the way to go but the boy ended up even further from home. The next person he met was a lazy man who never worked. This man bargained with the boy, taking the boy's last cracker in exchange for directions. Again the boy was led astray. The third person the boy met was a woodsman. The hard working man knew the woods well and helped the boy get home, teaching him about living in the woods along the way. The rich man had servants to do the work so he no longer knew how to care for himself. The beggar never worked and survived by cheating people. The woodsman worked hard and knew how to survive. The moral was to trust those who work for what they have.

Jack appreciated the moral of the story. "Hard work is the key to success."

"I'm just glad his parents were both alive when he got home and happy to have him safe."

Jack opened his eyes and looked at Sam in confusion. "Why wouldn't they both be alive and happy to see him?"

"I got tired of watching Disney fairy tales with Cassie when she was little because the mothers had all been killed off to add drama. I ended up reading her the gorier Grimm versions, occasionally with a bit of editing."

"I guess I hadn't thought about it." Jack started going through all the Disney movies he could think of and realized there were a lot of orphans in those stories. "Those stories must have been hard on Cassie."

"We talked about it a couple times. She's a strong kid."

"That she is." Jack reached out and held Sam's left hand in his right hand. "Can you read me another one?"

Sam looked down at their joined hands. Jack's thumbs started rubbing circles on the back of hand. She smiled even as she felt a pain in her chest. Sam looked back at the book and found a story about a girl who snuck food from her family's winter store. She grew fat while her family went hungry rationing their dwindling food during a long winter. As her family's food supply ran dangerously low she began stealing from her neighbor's. One night after stealing bread from a neighbor the girl came home and found her mother crying in her brother's room. Her brother was very sick and malnutrition was making it hard for him fight off the illness. The girl felt instantly guilty. She ran to her room and brought her mother all the food she had hidden under her bed. She begged her mother to give it to her brother but her brother was too ill to eat. Her brother got sicker but the girl stayed by her brother and fed him broth when he was awake. The girl only ate the broth she was feeding her brother as she cared for him. He began to get better and the long winter came to an end. The girl learned her selfish actions could hurt others so she needed to be mindful of her decisions.

Jack had closed his eyes while she read but his thumb never stopped moving. As the story ended he looked over at her. "Full of guilt with a touch of redemption at the end."

"That is how most of them go. Would you like me to make you some lunch?"

"Not if it means I have to let go." He squeezed her hand. She grinned and looked back down at their hands. She put the book down and leaned back on the sofa, letting the feel of his hand be the center of her attention.

"I like getting to just sit here with you. We haven't had enough down time since we got here. A day off is nice."

"Hopefully after the third harvest we can have more days like this."

"If the weather cooperates tomorrow I'm going to start harvesting the second field. I'd like to get the second harvest in as soon as possible."

"Makes sense. I'm feeling much better so I'll be able to help."

Sam laughed out loud. "Oh, please. There's no way I'm going to let you help. I don't know how many broken ribs you have but I know you won't be lifting anything for weeks." Sam shook her head as he open his mouth to protest. "I know. You can snap beans and clean the corn."

Jack grimaced, "Oh, joy." His displeasure made Sam laugh again.

"I'll get us some cheese and crackers. You need to take some more pain medicine too."

Jack's grimace deepened. "Not too much. I'm feeling ok here and I don't want to get too sleepy."

"An order of pain medicine without sleep with a side of cheese and crackers coming up." Sam slid her hand out of Jack's grip as she stood.

They enjoyed some lunch and another story. After Sam cleaned up she curled back up on the sofa with Jack. She read him one more story as he fell asleep. She watched him for a few minutes and then decided to join him for a short nap. She stretched out on the sofa beside him and was asleep within moments. She woke when she felt his hand running through her hair.

"I haven't napped in years. I hope I can still sleep tonight." Jack smiled as she spoke.

"Luckily you can stay up late and still have plenty of night left."

"Very true. The nights here do seem to go on for forever so I can stay up and get some more observations done."

"I like how you turned a nap into a way to work more. That is so Sam Carter."

"It's who I am." Sam sat up and stretched. "Speaking of work I'm going to go feed the animals again. I'll be back in a bit."

"If you insist."

Sam spent a long time feeding the animals and mucking the stalls. She needed a break and working in the barn was the best way to get it. She was enjoying Jack's attention while dreading the moment when he came to his senses.

Jack was in the bathroom taking a shower when Sam came back in so she mixed up a casserole and put it in the oven. It was just starting to smell good when Jack emerged with his wet hair slicked back. He was still slumped over and shuffling but that was improvement. It was clear the shower had worn him out though. He gently sat on the edge sofa and then he sat back and melted into the sofa as his muscles relaxed.

"Smells good out here."

"Thanks. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour."

"Mmmmm. Till then?"

"I made some hot tea. Would you like some?"

"Sure."

"Maybe a little pain medicine to go with it."

"Sure."

Sam gave him the tea and medicine and went back to the kitchen to make a salad to go with the casserole. Jack perked back up a bit while Sam was chopping. When the oven timer went off Jack awkwardly lifted himself off the sofa and came over to the table. Sam was surprised but followed his lead. She put the salad on the table, got Jack's tea from near the sofa, made plates of casserole, and got herself a glass of water. Jack gave Sam advice about tomorrow's plan to start the second harvest while they ate. He rambled a bit but she listened attentively. She knew it bothered him that he couldn't help her. He had invested a great deal of time into these fields and he wanted to follow through with the harvest.

After dinner Jack started walking towards the sofa.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in bed?"

"Maybe but I don't really want to fall asleep yet."

Sam nodded her head. "We could sit on the porch. You'll get some fresh air and I can do some more star observations."

"I can handle that."

"If you're a good boy I might even let you name a constellation or two."

"Oooohhhh. Would you really?"

Sam laughed. "You head out there and I'll bring a couple of chairs in a sec."

"Are we gonna race? Cause I can always give you a head start."

"No racing needed. I'd feel guilty knocking you over just before you tried to cross the finish line."

Jack glanced over his shoulder. "Big words from the woman in last place." Sam giggled as she put the last of the dishes in the sink to soak. She grabbed two chairs and met Jack at the door.

"We appear to be neck and neck as we reach the finish line."

Jack took a small hop and reached the edge of the door frame. "And the old injured man wins with a last gasp of sudden energy." Jack raised his hands just above his shoulders and slowly pumped his fists. "Victory is mine."

"Alright Mr. Victor let me get past you and put down a chair before you collapse in exhaustion after your long race."

Sam sat down two chairs. Jack sat while Sam went back in for her notebook. They spent three hours finding and in some cases renaming constellations. Jack was suggesting names based on cartoon characters but Sam preferred to stick with animals and holiday. Since she was doing the writing Voltron and Optimus Prime did not make it into her list of constellations. Sam saw Jack yawning and decided it was time to call it a night.

Sam stretched her arms out and yawned dramatically. "It's getting late."

"You're being a bit dramatic. I know there's no way you could possibly be tired."

Sam dropped her arms and glanced over at Jack. "But you're tired."

"Yeah, I guess I am." Jack leaned forward and ran his hands through his hair. "Are you coming in too?"

"In a little while. I have a few notes I want to finish writing."

"Ok." Jack slowly stood and shuffled inside. Sam heard the water running in the bathroom. Once the bathroom light turned out she collected her stuff and brought the chairs inside. She did the dishes from dinner and folded up the two blankets on the sofa. She looked around the small house and smiled. It wasn't the life she had imagined for herself after she retired but she liked what they had built.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack was asleep when she went into his bedroom. She saw an empty vial of pain medicine beside the bed and knew that had probably helped him get to sleep so quickly. She did her night routine in the bathroom, turned out the bathroom light, and walked over to the edge of Jack's bed. As she stood there his hand lifted and took a hold of her hand.

"I thought you were asleep."

"I was."

"I'm sorry if I woke you."

"Are you staying in here tonight?" His thumb was rubbing circles on the back on her hand again. She felt herself melting.

"I shouldn't."

"I disagree." He pulled gently on her hand. She was torn and stood still as he pulled. "Sam?" Her heart won out over her head. She took a step towards him.

"Just give me a minute to change clothes and I'll be right back."

Jack reluctantly let go. Sam went into her room and changed into her yoga pants and a t shirt. She sat on the edge of her bed and shook her head. Why did she keep repeating this mistake? She sighed. She knew why and there was no point lying to herself about it. She loved how it felt.

Jack was fighting to stay awake when she came back into his room. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Jack reached out until his fingers touched her back.

"Good night beautiful."

Sam gulped. "Sleep well."

Sam woke in the middle of the night because Jack had moved over and was spooning her. The warmth from his body combined with her nightly hot flashes had left her sweating. She stuck her feet out from under the blanket and felt a little better. Her squirming had roused Jack. His hand started moving until it landed on her hip and stilled.

The feel of his body so close to hers in such an intimate position made her throat burn. She put her hand over his. She tried to pretend this was how they really lived but the reality that this was temporary brought tears to her eyes. She fought them back and lay still as her mind raced. She went through all the scenarios of how this could play out but each one ended with her heart broken. Eventually Jack rolled over onto his back, letting go of her as he moved. Sam was able to fall asleep again about twenty minutes later.

The next time Sam woke light was streaming in on her face and Jack was rubbing circles on her hand.

"Good morning sunshine."

"Are you always this chipper in the morning?"

"It helps to wake up and find you in my bed." Jack's combination of a sneer and a smile was charming.

"You invited me."

"I have my moments of brilliance."

"Yes, you do." Sam got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Jack was sitting on the edge of the bed when she came out. He grabbed her hand as she walked past him.

"I'll be fine here today. Don't feel the need to come in and check on me over and over. You get that field done. That's the most important thing today." He squeezed her hand.

Sam looked at him seriously for a moment. "I'll be coming to check on you when I bring you some work to keep you busy."

"Work will be good. I'm getting bored."

Sam pulled out of Jack's light grip. "I've learned better than to let you get bored. That just equals trouble."

Jack grinned as Sam left the bedroom. She made them both some breakfast. She ate quickly and got out to the barn. She took the tractor out to field two and picked all the plants that looked mature. Since she was planning on tilling the whole field she decided to pluck the plants whole and take them back to the house where the beans, peppers, berries, and fruits could be harvested. She worked until midday harvesting bean plants. She loaded them into a trailer being pulled by the tractor and brought them the house. She unloaded them on the porch and came inside only to find the house empty. Jack was in the barn sitting at his woodworking bench.

"What are you doing?"

"I was bored so I thought I'd try my hand at some carving but this level of detail is giving me a hell of a headache. Not sure I can keep this up much longer."

"I brought you a boatload of beans to pick and snap. I'm not even done harvesting them yet. I can't believe you planted this many."

"I wanted to be sure we had enough."

"We'll be eating beans every day for years."

Jack stood and laid down his tools. "We can get creative with our recipes."

Sam held the barn door open for him. "I'll be right behind you. I'm going to freshen up the stalls while I'm in here."

"I'll pour you a drink."

Sam ate a quick sandwich and drank two glasses of water before going back to the field. It took her the rest of the afternoon to finish just the beans. The rest of the field would have to wait until tomorrow. When she got back to the house she off loaded the bean plants, fed the animals, and came in for a much needed shower. They had more sandwiches for dinner. Sam was too tired to do any star gazing and she fell asleep in her own bed before Jack got out of the shower. He was disappointed to be sleeping alone but after half a dose of pain medicine he fell asleep.

Jack spent the next day snapping the beans Sam had harvested. Sam spent the day harvesting a variety of pepper, berry, and vegetable plants. Like last time she pulled the plants whole and brought them back to the house to sort and prepare. The vines and stalks were used for compost. It was while Sam was tilling the field that Leila drove up to check on Jack. Sam saw the car go by and decided it was time to take a break and come back to the house for a while. Sam left the tractor in the field, since she could jog faster than driving it. Leila was just walking out of the house when Sam arrived.

"Good day Leila. I assume you already saw Jack."

"He seems to be doing well. I'm glad you've found a way to keep him busy."

"Good to know he's working."

Leila smiled. "He said he has stopped taking the pain medicine during the day but is still using at night to sleep."

"Yeah, he's never really liked taking medicine."

"Has he been a good patient?"

Sam nodded. "I guess."

"But?" Leila frowned.

Sam's lips tightened into a line. "He's not quite acting like himself yet."

"In what way?"

Sam's right foot twisted and she looked away from Leila. "Just different."

"Is he angry? Has he been hurting you?"

Sam looked up. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. "No! No, nothing like that. The exact opposite actually."

"He's being too nice?" Leila's head was tilted to the right.

"Sort of. Let's just say he's doing and saying things he wouldn't have willing said or done a few weeks ago."

"And doing and saying these nice things is bad?"

"It is if it means he has a serious head injury that isn't healing."

"True. Sorry. If he hasn't returned to normal by the time the third harvest has been planted bring him to the clinic. There isn't much I can do but monitor a head injury but if his behavior stays altered I should check him more thoroughly."

Sam frowned. "Ok."

"And until then try to enjoy his overly nice attitude."

Sam grinned a little. "I'm trying to enjoy it while not getting used to it."

"That's probably for the best. Look me up when you get back into town."

Sam walked Leila to her car. "Will do."

Sam turned towards the house as Leila drove off. She decided she would go in for a quick drink before heading back out to finish field two. Jack saw her coming and moved back from the door, where he had been standing since walking Leila to the door. When Sam entered the house Jack was standing by the sink washing his hands.

"Leila says you're doing well."

"Yep. She said I didn't need to see her again as long as I keep feeling better each day."

"Well we'll see her again in a few days once the third harvest has been planted. There will be another big party in town and before you even say anything about not going her girls would be very upset with me if I didn't bring their favorite story teller."

Jack grinned. "They do love their stories."

"Yes they do. I'm going to go finish tilling the second field. I'll be back in a couple hours and we can spend our evening canning."

"Oh joy."

Sam did as promised. She tilled the whole field twice, checked on the animals, and made it back inside in time to make a quick dinner. The rest of the evening was spent canning and preserving their abundant harvest. They had some laughs as they reminisced and made the kitchen into a big mess. Sam took a quick shower while Jack did a little cleaning. Sam finished the cleaning while Jack took his shower. She was in her bed when he came out of the bathroom so he called out good night and climbed into his own bed. They were both so tired that sleep took them quickly and kept them enveloped till the morning.

Jack kept working on preserving the harvest while Sam planted hay in the second field. Sam came in for a sandwich before heading back out to cut down the corn in field three. She had been in the field for about an hour when Jorl showed up dragging a piece of equipment behind his truck.

"Hello Samantha."

Sam got down off the tractor and came over to Jorl. "Hello. What brings you out here on such a nice day?"

"I have finished my second harvest and hated the thought of you trying to finish your second harvest alone. I can cut and shuck all your corn in a matter of hours with this baby." He motioned to the equipment on the trailer. "You work on those potatoes and leave the corn to me."

Sam beamed. "That sounds amazing. Are you sure? Shouldn't you be getting your third harvest planted?"

"I'll have time for that tomorrow. Let's get this field cleared today."

Sam walked over and extended her hand to Jorl. "I really appreciate this."

He took her hand and in both of his instead of shaking her hand like she expected. "You are quite welcome."

Sam smiled nervously and gently pulled back on her hand. Jorl released her and she took a step back. "I guess we should get to it."

"Quite right." Jorl hooked his shucker up to the tractor and got to work on the corn. Sam started digging out the potatoes. They worked all afternoon. Jorl was right about being able to cut down and shuck all the corn much faster than Sam could have done on her own. They took five loads of corn back to the house so Sam and Jack could work on preserving it later. Jorl helped Sam harvest potatoes till the sun went down. They both went back to the house where Jack was waiting with fresh corn, sliced vegetables, and grilled steaks.

Jorl twice reached for Sam's hand during dinner but she deftly avoided his embrace. Jack kept the conversation upbeat even as he caught the looks Jorl was giving Sam. He was thankful for his help but his attempts to flirt with Sam were grating on Jack's nerves. When dinner was over Sam walked Jorl back out to his truck.

"Thanks for helping us today. I'll be able to finish harvesting tomorrow and the third harvest will be planted by the day after tomorrow. That gives me a good chance of getting the third harvest done before winter."

Jorl reached out and took her hand. "I'd be happy to come back tomorrow and help you finish."

Sam smiled gently and shook her head no. "I'll be fine and you need to get your own fields planted. I'll see you at the next harvest celebration."

Jorl lifted her hand to his lips and placed a gentle but sloppy kiss on her knuckles. "Till the harvest celebration. Good night."

"Good night Jorl." Sam backed up as Jorl turned and left.

Jack glanced over his shoulder as Sam entered the house. "Has your boyfriend left?"

"Don't be like that. He was very helpful."

"He hopes all that help will help him get closer to you."

"I've done nothing to lead him on."

"Nothing other than being your usual charming and beautiful self I'm sure."

Sam glared. "It doesn't exactly sound like a compliment when you say it that way."

Jack kept his back to her. "Sorry. That was a low blow. I know you haven't done anything to lead him on."

Sam scowled but decided it was best to drop it. "I'm going to get a quick shower."

Jack gave up on food preservation for the evening and sat down on the sofa. His ribs ached and his head was pounding but he had decided to lay off the pain medicine starting that night. He knew he was tired enough to sleep despite his discomfort. When Sam came out of the bathroom she went straight to her room. Jack waited a while for Sam to return but when she didn't he turned off the light in the sitting room and went to the bathroom. Sam's light was out when he was done so he went to bed without saying good night.

Sam was up early and out in the field before Jack had even finished getting ready. She spent all day harvesting potatoes, which thankfully didn't have to be preserved in any special method. Her back was too sore to even think about spending another night blanching, canning, or freezing another thing. She knew Jack had probably been busy all day despite nursing his injuries but she was too sore to think much about his sacrifices. She used the tiller to pull the last wagon full potatoes to the barn just after the sun had set. Once she had the third field plowed and planted tomorrow she would get the potatoes stored in their cellar but for now the barn would suffice.

Jack was in the barn when Sam drove in. He was messing around at his woodworking bench. Sam knew he had been working on a project before the storm but he hadn't told it what he was doing. She was curious but not curious enough to bug him about it right now. Sam parked the tractor, nodded at Jack, and headed inside. Jack finished up, checked on the animals, secured the barn, and followed Sam inside. She was in the shower when he came inside. He made them both sandwiches and left hers on the table. He had finished eating by the time she emerged from the shower.

She saw the sandwich and got herself a glass of juice to go with it. "Thanks for making this for me."

"Least I could do after your long day."

Sam picked up her food and joined Jack on the sofa. She sat her food down and stretched out her back muscles. "Potatoes are a pain in the ass to harvest."

"Is your back sore?"

"That is an understatement."

"Perhaps a bit of pain medicine would help."

"I'll be fine."

"Stubborn woman."

"Kettle."

"Oooohhhh, that hurt."

Sam shook her head and grinned slightly. She finished her sandwich and got a bowl of berries for dessert. Jack went to his room to get a shower and put on his pajamas. When he came back out Sam was asleep on the sofa.

"Hey sleepy head, time to go to bed." Sam didn't budge. Jack nudged her but she just grunted. Jack took the blankets off the back of the sofa and covered Sam up. He knew this wasn't the best thing for her back but his choices were limited.

Jack was up early the next morning. He went out to the kitchen and put water in the tea pot. He turned on the stove. Sam didn't budge. He looked over at her and frowned.

"Hey Carter, time to wakey wakey. How's your back?"

Sam heard him and one word stuck out. Carter. She'd been both dreading and looking forward to hearing it. It meant he was getting better but it also meant the affection she had enjoyed was over. She laid there for a minute and let that sink into her sleep addled brain. It was back to being Carter and O'Neill. She slowly opened her eyes and stretched her back. It hurt but it could be worse, especially considering she had slept on the sofa.

"Time to get the third field planted."

"You do get a bit of breakfast first."

Sam sat up and slid her feet to the floor. "I'll eat as soon as I'm done in the bathroom."

Sam spent a few extra minutes in the bathroom getting her face set to the business as usual tone that had greeted her that morning. She stepped into the kitchen and found a bowl of granola sitting on the table with a cup of tea beside it.

"Thanks for making breakfast."

"I know you have a long day ahead of you. I packed you a lunch too."

"Thanks." She ate quickly and headed out to care for the animals and till field three. Once she was gone Jack headed out to the barn to do some wood working. His head was feeling much clearer than it had in days. His ribs were sore but he took breaks to stretch and work out the kinks. He worked in the barn for a few hours before going back inside the house to preserve some more food.

Sam was gone the whole day. She got the third field tilled and planted with hay. She got home after the sun had gone down. She was filthy and tired but glad to be done. She went straight to the shower and came out to find the table covered in vegetables at various stages of being preserved. She started nibbling on an orange carrot like vegetable.

"Hey, I'm working on those." Jack scooted the pile of vegetables away from her.

"I'm hungry." Sam pouted as she finished off the orange vegetable.

"I've been so wrapped up blanching that I didn't get dinner started. Sorry."

"Sandwiches will be fine." Sam got up and dug through the cabinets for plates and bread. She pulled some random meats from the fridge and started layering them on her bread.

Jack looked over at her project. "That's a heck of a sandwich."

"I did say I was hungry." Sam smiled. Sam snatched a few sliced veggies from Jack's piles to top off her sandwich. She took her sandwich to the sofa and sat cross legged as she watched Jack build his own sandwich.

Jack looked over at her. "Want some juice?"

Sam nodded. As soon as he mentioned it she was parched. He brought over two glasses of purple juice and put them on the table beside the sofa. He went back for his sandwich and joined her on the sofa.

"Why are you sitting like a kindergartener?"

"It's comfortable and it stretches out my muscles."

"Those two sentiments don't go together."

"What do you mean?"

"Stretching your muscles and being a comfortable sitting position. You can't do both at the same time and if I got into that position I'd never be able to get out." Sam giggled as she pictured Jack sitting cross legged. He stretched his legs out onto the ottoman in front of the sofa just to prove he had no intention of curling up like a pretzel.

"I saw it rained a bit this afternoon."

"It did but it was light so I kept on working. We were lucky to have such nice weather for the whole second harvest."

"We've done well. We have more than enough to make it the winter."

"We'll be able to pay back some of the folks who helped us out."

"Yep and if we do this well again next year we might be able to sell some of our harvest."

"I was thinking the same thing. We should go to Marl's when we get to town and see what brings in a good price. He usually takes a large shipment to the neighboring towns a couple days after the harvest celebration and then he takes preserved foods when winter starts."

"Good plan. When are we going to town?"

"As I understood it the harvest celebration varies based on weather and how long it takes people to get the field planted again. Since it's been so nice I bet the celebration will happen soon. I guess I should go to town for a little while tomorrow to check."

"Anything to escape the heat of blanching I suspect."

"You are welcome to come along if you feel up to the walk." Sam watched his face as he pondered her offer.

"You had better go alone."

"I'll go to Jamale's and put in a few hours of work. I'll be home before dinner. As a matter of fact I'll bring home some of Lura's pot pies so you can take the day off too." The thought of going to town made Sam smile. That same smile disturbed Jack since he thought Sam was thinking of Jamale. He tried to ignore it but his mood soured and Sam could tell. She assumed his mood was caused by the thought of being stuck at home for another day. She tried to cheer him with silly stories from a different Uraba children's book but the most she got was a polite grin.

As usual Sam was up and out of the house early. She ate a granola bar as she peddled to town. She stopped at Marl's first to read the notices, the harvest celebration would be in two days, and pick up a few more supplies, like jars and salt. Her next stop was Jamale's. He was pleased to see her and had a few small jobs she was able to quickly finish.

Sam leaned against a post beside Jamle's desk. "I have time to do some more."

"I am sure Jack needs you at home and it's been getting dark earlier."

"Not that early and Jack is doing fine."

"In that case I expect we'll see you at the harvest celebration."

"I hope so. We'll see if Jack can make the walk."

"That's easy enough to solve. I'll come pick you both up a couple hours before mid day."

Sam grinned. "We would both appreciate that. Jack really needs a day out. Being trapped at home is making him a bit grumpy."

Jamale grinned and snorted. "I'm sure it has. Now go home and try to cheer him up. I'll see you in two days."

"After the celebration I should be able to come back to work for a few weeks if you still need me."

"I'll be happy to have you back. My sons are great but you have a knack for machines that I'm not sure either of them will ever develop."

"I was tinkering with machines before your boys were born, so it makes sense that I know a few tricks they don't. They're both good kids and they'll get there. Any day now you'll turn around and wonder when they became men."

"You say that like you have some experience."

Sam thought of Cassie and how she became a strong bright loving woman overnight. "I do in a way. I was very close to my friend's daughter back home. It seems like I went from playing games with her to seeing her getting engaged in a matter of days. Time passes so quickly."

"Very true. Now get out of here and have a good night."

Sam left on the bike. Her basket was already over flowing and she was wearing a large filled backpack, which was disrupting her balance. She stopped and picked up some pot pies for dinner. She had tried to make pot pies a couple times, because Jack liked them so much, but her crust just didn't turn out right. She splurged and picked up a couple fruit pies too.

A heavy rain started as she rode home. The wind combined with all her packages made it difficult for her to keep her balance but she pressed on and got home just after dark. She was soaking wet but the food had been under multiple layers and was fine. Jack heated up dinner and put away the supplies while she got a hot shower. She told him about Jamale's offer over dinner.

Jack scowled. "I don't have to go to the celebration."

"You need to get out of here and Leila's daughters wouldn't forgive me if I showed up without their favorite story teller."

Jack did want to see those girls, they were adorable. "Guess I need to be thinking up my next story."

"Or two. Those girls will want an encore."

Jack grinned. "Yes, they will."

Two days passed quickly. Sam and Jack prepared several bundles of food and were ready to leave when Jamale and his sons arrived. Sam and Jack joined Jamale up front while the boys hopped in the back of the truck. Jamale congratulated them on a successful second harvest. They spent the ride discussing what crops were best for personal use and which sold best in the distant cities. Sam was pleased that Jack was on his best behavior the whole way.

The celebration was as much fun as Sam had hoped. Leila's daughters got three stories, The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, and Robin Hood. Sam was surprised that Robin Hood was the biggest success, with the girls and the adults. Jorl danced with Sam many times, she didn't feel she could really turn him down since he had been so much help with the harvest. She also danced with Jamale and his sons. Jack turned down all offers to dance, this time blaming his ribs. There was an abundance of food again this time so they both tried a few things they'd never had before, adding even more choices to the list of possible foods to plant next year.

After the celebration Sam and Jack went back to their old routine. Sam spent every other night in town, spending her evening working on a hay tedder and a baler. Jorl's visits to the shop had become even more frequent and he had asked her to come to dinner a couple times but she turned him down politely. Jamale started to tease her about Jorl's interest, once he knew she wasn't interested.

The days quickly grew shorter. Rain was common over the next few weeks so the hay grew quickly. Jamale helped Sam get the tedder and baler to the farm a few days before the first field was ready to be harvested. Jack had spent most of his time during these weeks in the barn working on a project he still refused to discuss with Sam.

Sam cut the hay in field one and left it to dry but the darn rain that she was glad to see help the hay grow was making it take longer for the hay to dry. A week later Jack cut the hay in fields two and three. His ribs were fully healed and he was glad to be back out working. Jack and Sam took turns using the tedder to spread the hay on the dry days. All the farmers were glad for the dry week that let them get the hay baled.

Sam and Jack celebrated a successful third harvest with a dinner of venison and potatoes. Sam was back at work at Jamale's early the next morning. Jorl visited to regal her with stories of his successful harvest that year, as if everyone hadn't had a wonderful season. He had given up the pretense of bringing in equipment that needed repairs so he chatted while she worked on a baler that had broken during the harvest. She listened to his stories politely, he was a good customer, but in the end she had to turn him down again when he invited her to dinner. Persistence was a good trait in most cases but his interest was beginning to annoy her. She spent her evening finishing a project she had been hiding from Jack.


	11. Chapter 11

It was just before midday when Jamale's youngest son came running into the shop. His cheeks were red and he was bouncing on his toes.

"Did you get your hay in Sam?"

"Yes, why?"

"Come and look!" He was waving her to the front of the shop. Sam got up and went to the door. She smiled when she saw the large snowflakes falling.

"It's the first snow of the year!" The boy took off down the street intent on telling everyone about the snow.

Jamale had heard his son's shouts and came out to see what was happening. "The first snow is early this season. I hope everyone has their third harvest in by now."

"Most people who have come to town this week have said they were either done or close."

"I hope so." Jamale leaned against the door frame. "Early winters are usually bad news but we've had a good growing season and I have high hopes that we will all be fine this winter."

"I think we'll all be fine." Sam smiled as children raced outside to try and catch snowflakes.

"You can go ahead and head home. Nobody will be coming to the shop now that there's snow."

"It's not snowing that much. I can get a little more done."

Jamale's eyes narrowed. "I thought you had a few errands you needed to complete before going home."

Sam nodded. "I do."

"Shops will begin to close soon. Go ahead and finish what you are working on and then get out of here. Have a lovely first snow. I think it is always the best of the season." Jamale went into his house and left Sam watching the kids playing. She tore herself away after a couple minutes and went back to her workbench. She finished the motor and collected her project and bike. She had three stops to make on her way home.

She went to see widow Isles first. The good widow quickly opened the door when Sam knocked.

"Hello, Samantha. I'm glad the weather didn't stop you from coming by."

"As am I. It is beautiful though."

"It is but I'm afraid this is the first of many snows this season. It may be a long cold season."

"It might but the town should be well prepared."

"I hope so. I have your packages right here dear." The widow walked over to her table and picked up four packages wrapped in paper.

"Thank you so much." Sam reached into her bag pack and pulled out several jars of vegetables and a package of preserved meat. "These are for you."

The widow smiled. "You didn't need to bring these. Fixing my wagon was more than enough payment"

"This isn't much really. I appreciate you making these for us. We've needed them for quite a while."

"I expect to see you in them when you're around town."

"Yes, ma'am. Let me know if your wagon needs any more repairs. I am always happy to help."

"I will dear. Now get out of here before this weather gets really nasty."

Sam smiled and waved good-bye. Her next stop was at Marl's. She paid off a bit more of their bill and bought some fishing line. Her last stop was at the bakery where she bought some cinnamon rolls, fruit pies, and fresh bread. She put the food in her backpack and tied the packages she picked up from the widow into her basket. Her surprise for Jack was too long to fit in the basket so she secured one end to the basket and the other end to her seat, leaving enough space for her leg to still peddle.

The snow was really coming down by the time she left town. There were already a couple inches on the ground and it was accumulating quickly. The snow combined with the recent rains made the road very muddy. Her bike got stuck a couple times, throwing her off balance in the process. The second time her bike slipped she ended up in a shallow gulley. She cursed the bike and the weather as she picked up the bike. She made sure her packages were secure and Jack's surprise hadn't been damaged before she set off again.

The usual half hour bike ride had already taken an hour and she still wasn't home. She was having trouble seeing because the snow was coming down so hard. Her lack of vision combined with getting stuck in the mud and slipping on the snow was making the trip home very difficult. She was also very cold. She was wearing several layers but she hadn't counted on getting wet. She pulled her sleeves down over her hands, since she wasn't wearing gloves, and used her scarf to cover her head and ears. She hated it when her ears got cold.

When Jack saw the snow he decided it was best to go out and get the animals secured for the evening even though it was still early. The barn would keep the animals comfortable all night thanks to the geothermal heating system. Once the animals were inside he loaded his project onto a cart and wheeled it to the house. He had a hard time getting into the house by himself but he kept at it until he had it moved into the far corner of the kitchen. He collected eggs from the chicken-ettes when he returned the cart to the barn.

He was decorating in the house when he heard the door shake. He assumed it was the wind and kept on hanging garland around the hearth. The geothermal heating meant fires weren't necessary but most houses still had a fire place for decorative purposes. Jack was just thinking that a snowy day might be the perfect time for a fire when he heard the door rattle again. This time he decided to investigate. He was shocked to find Sam standing on the porch trying to open the door. Her hands were full and the bike was lying on its side in front of the porch. Jack pulled her inside and brought the bike up onto the porch.

Sam dropped her packages beside the door. Jack took the backpack off her shoulders.

"Why in the world did you come home in this?"

"Cccccause." Sam was shaking all over. Jack helped her strip off her wet coat and the two shirts she was wearing under it. He brought a chair over and sat her down. He lifted her right leg and removed her boot. He lifted her left leg and untied her other boot.

"You are nuts. You should have stayed in town."

"Ddddidn't sssseem so bbbad at fffirst." Jack helped her stand up and pull off her soaking wet pants. He helped her over to the sofa. He put two blankets over her and went to the bedroom to get a third blanket. Her shaking convinced him it was the right time to start a fire. He grabbed some kindling and a couple logs from the corner and bent down in front of the fireplace. He had a fire going within minutes.

"There's ffffood in my pack."

Jack looked over at the backpack he had taken off Sam's shoulders. "Ok." He retrieved the bag and emptied the contents onto the kitchen table. His mouth watered at the sight of the cinnamon rolls. After Jack unpacked the food he stoked the fire and sat on the sofa beside Sam. She was still shivering so he pulled her close to him. She fell asleep as her shivering stopped. Her head was resting on his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. He held her for about thirty minutes before he had to get up to start dinner. She slept through the initial preparation but woke as he was adding more wood to the fire.

"Mmmmmm. It smells wonderful in here."

"Well thank you. We still have a bit longer until dinner will be ready, despite how good it smells. Feel free to go get a hot shower and shake off the last of the snow."

"That's probably a good idea." Sam stood and wrapped one of the blankets around her. She glanced over at the door and saw the packages but not the special surprise. She hiked the blanket up high, walked over to the window, and looked outside. The bike with her surprise still tied to it was on the porch. She opened the door and tiptoed out into the cold. She tried to quickly untie the package but she had tied it too well. Jack came over to the door to see what she was doing. When he saw her predicament he went and got her a knife. She cut the ties and brought the long package inside.

Jack looked at her soaking wet bare feet. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes." Sam leaned the package against the wall. "Now I can go take a shower." She smiled at him as she headed towards the bedrooms. She grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom.

Sam took a luxuriously long hot shower. She actually lathered, rinsed and repeated for once. The water stung her fingers and toes at first but after a minute the water felt marvelous. The bathroom was filled with steam when she finished. She cracked the door open to let out some of the steam. She put on her pajamas and towel dried her hair before emerging into the cool bedroom. She put her dirty clothes in her hamper and walked out into the living room.

All the lights in the room were off and there were lit candles on the hearth, the table beside the sofa, the dining room table, and the kitchen counter. She looked back over her shoulder to confirm in her own mind that she had just turned off the lights in the bathroom and bedrooms.

"Is there something wrong with the generator? Did we lose our electricity?"

Jack turned around and smiled. "No, I was going for ambiance."

Sam's eyes widened. "Oh, I like ambiance."

"I hoped so." Jack turned back around towards the stove. "Dinner's almost ready. Could you get out some glasses? I'd like some of the wine the Chalt's gave us."

"You know its Christmas, don't you?"

"Christmas Eve to be exact."

Sam looked down at her watch. "It's been Christmas for about ten minutes."

"Really? Wait a minute. Are you one of those people always trying to find a way to open gifts on Christmas Eve? That's it isn't?"

Sam laughed out loud. "No. We only opened one gift on Christmas Eve and it was always a game that was supposed to keep my brother and I quiet until we were sent to bed."

"Are you sure? You were always encouraging Cassie to bug Janet to death to open her gifts early."

"The privilege of being the aunt instead of the mother."

Sam poured the wine while Jack sat the food out on the kitchen counter. He had baked a bird he had killed while hunting the day before. There were a variety of baked and sautéed vegetables, as well as mashed potatoes and stuffing, and the rolls Sam had brought home on the table also. Jack turned on his ipod to a selection of Christmas tunes. They both filled a plate and sat down at the small table.

"The candles are a nice touch."

"Did you see the garland? I collected it while I was hunting yesterday."

Sam looked around the room. She had missed the pine-like strands laid around the room. "That explains the nice earthy smell."

Sam took a couple bites as her eyes kept roaming the room. She saw the large rectangular shape covered with a blanket in the corner of the kitchen.

"What's that?" Sam tilted her head towards the blanket covered rectangle.

"That's for later." Jack kept eating as a smile spread across Sam's face. They shared stories of past Christmases as they ate, reveling in the antics of Cassie over the years. The concept that there was a day for giving gifts surprised the child her first year on Earth. They both agreed that was the best Christmas they had spent with her.

After dinner Jack washed dishes and Sam dried. Once they finished Sam was nearly bouncing on her toes as she collected her packages and moved them to the sofa. Jack added wood to the fire and joined her on the sofa. Sam separated the packages into two piles.

"Did you get gifts for yourself?"

Sam grinned guiltily. "Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Why?"

"People do that?"

"I've been doing it since I was a teenager. I love opening gifts and I know what I want. You open one first." Sam nudged Jack's pile towards him.

Jack took the first package off the top and opened it. It was a blue plaid shirt.

"Try it on. I want to see if I got your size right."

Jack sat forward and pulled the shirt on. It was a perfect fit. "Did you make this?"

Sam giggled. "Not a chance. I did a little bargaining with widow Isles. She's an excellent seamstress and I figured it was about time you had a shirt made to fit you instead of hand me downs."

"Nice color. Thank you."

"I always liked you in blue." Sam picked up one of her packages. It was a light yellow shirt. Jack went on to open two pairs of pants, one brown and one blue, and another shirt, a red one. Sam also got two pairs of pants and another shirt. Sam bounced up and got the long package from beside the door. She stood beside the sofa and held it out towards Jack.

"Here's the good one." Jack stood up and took the long package from her. He turned it around a couple times as she swayed back and forth. He knew he was driving her nuts so he rotated the package one more time.

"Just open it up for goodness sake."

Jack grinned and started tearing the paper. He stopped as the top of the fishing pole was exposed. He ripped the rest of the paper off. The look on his face made Sam downright giddy.

"There's a large lake about an hour from here and two streams that feed it. You can also use it closer to home. Oh, I almost forgot." Sam spun around looking for her backpack. She saw it in the kitchen. She went over and opened the small front flap. She pulled out the fishing line and gave it to Jack.

"Works better with some of this."

"Thank you Sam. I've really missed fishing."

"I thought it might be a good way to help you relax and add some more diversity to our table."

"Did you make it?"

Sam bit her lower lip. "Yeah, that's been my evening project while I was in town lately."

"I'm impressed. It feels well balanced." Jack was swishing it around.

"I look forward to hearing all about how it works."

Sam started to sit down but Jack stopped her. "You still have one gift left too." Jack looked over at the corner.

Sam slid over towards the surprise. She lifted the cloth. It was a beautiful wooden dresser. She pulled the cloth off and stood in front of the dresser in awe. It had three small drawers on the top row and two drawers on the middle and bottom rows. The top middle drawer had a decorative design on it. She bent down to get a closer look at it. The Tauri symbol was carved between the handle. To the left of the handle was an S and to the right was a C.

"Of course your initials involve curved letters. They're harder than straight lines."

"It's so beautiful. Thank you so much."

"I promised you a dresser. Sorry it took me so long."

"This is so amazing." Sam opened the top left drawer. She knew this had taken him a long time. The sanding alone must have been daunting. As she was admiring the dresser the music changed from Christmas tunes to jazz.

"Is that _Perdido_?"

"I'm impressed. You know Duke Ellington." His voice was coming from just over her shoulder. She hadn't heard him walk up behind her. She slowly turned. Jack had his hand out.

"May I have this dance?"

She was too surprised to utter an answer but she put her hand in his. He put his other hand on her waist and spun her to the center of the room. Jack led her though two more spins and a dip before the song ended.

"Your ribs really are fine, aren't they?"

"Yes, ma'am." The next song started. "Do you know this one?"

"It sounds familiar."

"I heard it a couple years ago at a military ball and tracked it down. It's _Come on Back_ by Benny Carter arranged by SFC Jeff Lopez. He did a nice job with it."

"Yes, he did." At the end of the song Jack pulled Sam tight against him. Again and Again, also by Jack Benny, began to play. The tempo was much slower. Sam relaxed into Jack's arms and continued to follow his lead.

They were basically swaying in place when Jack whispered in Sam's ear. "Merry Christmas, Sam."

Her heart clenched and her feet stopped moving. She moved her head back so she could look Jack in the eyes. "Jack?"

"Sam."

She bit her lower lip. "What changed?"

"As you lifted that beam off me I realized you were always the one who saved my sorry butt. Since you're here with me you won't be coming through that gate to rescue us. I'm finally ready to make a life together. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

She kept her eyes open until the moment before his lips touched hers because she didn't believe this was really happening. His kiss was soft and long. Her hands moved from his shoulders to the base of his hair. As the kiss deepened one of Jack's hands slid down to her buttocks and the other moved up between her shoulder blades. He pulled her even closer. His lips left hers and began kissing along her jaw, concentrating just below her ear. A tingle spread from her belly button to her toes and fingers but her brain was slowly catching up.


	12. Chapter 12

"Wait Jack." His kisses continued. "Please stop."

His lips stilled and his hands balled up into fists but stayed put. He laid his forehead on her shoulder as he caught his breath. "Sam?"

Her hands moved back to his shoulders. "I need…"

"Yes." She paused while she tried to get her thoughts together. "Anything, Sam. Just tell me what you need."

"I need to know what you would expect of me if a rescue team came through the gate tomorrow…or next year."

"What?" Sam pushed back slightly. Jack lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

"Would you expect me to just turn this off again if we were rescued?"

Jack shook his head. "We both know rescue isn't coming."

Sam took a step back. "I know better than you that the chance of being rescued is infinitely small but that doesn't answer my question. I had a hard time letting you go after 118 but I was able to tell myself that neither of us would have made the same decision if we'd known all the facts. This time we both know what we're doing. If we do this you can't expect me to just turn it off."

"It was hard for me too."

Sam tilted her head to the side. "Really? You made it look easy."

Jack stepped back up to her and put his hands on her arms. "If I hadn't made it look easy we both would have spent a year on a shrinks couch and then ended up on different teams. Trust me there was a lot of alcohol involved in acting like it was easy."

"I had no idea."

"Good, that was the plan."

"And now?"

"Open the top middle drawer of your dresser."

Sam's brow creased as she looked over his shoulder at her new dresser. He let go of her arms and nudged her. "Go on."

Sam walked over and slid the drawer open. There were two pieces of paper lying in the drawer. Sam looked back over her shoulder. Jack nodded. Sam picked up the top piece of paper and opened it.

"You signed it the day I gave it to you?" Sam held up her letter of retirement.

"Yes." Jack nodded.

"So why did you wait all this time?"

"In my gut I still felt like your reputation would be ruined when we were rescued despite your clear intentions." Sam looked back at the paper in her hand. "Look at the other page."

Sam turned back to the dresser and picked up the second piece of paper. She read it twice. She felt her throat burning as she fought back tears.

"If a rescue team shows up we'll tell them we are two retired air force officers who fell in love and made a life together and we intend to keep doing that no matter what planet we're on."

Sam spun on her left foot and put her arms out towards Jack. He closed the gap and kissed her, hard and fierce. She ran her right hand through his hair as their tongues met. A deep groan escaped his throat as her tongue traced a line along the roof of his mouth.

As their lips separated their eyes met. "You wrote your retirement letter a few days after the storm. Why did it take you so long to tell me?"

Jack snorted. "I was clear about how I felt but you thought it was brain damage. I heard you tell Leila I wasn't being myself so I went back to being myself long enough to convince you that this is what I really want."

He placed his hand on the side of her face. "I want us and I'm tired of waiting." He kissed her again, a deep long kiss. He heard the letters crumple as Sam moved her hands over his back.

Jack slid his lips over to Sam's ear. "Perhaps we ought to put those letters somewhere better."

She nodded. "That's probably a good idea." Sam handed him the letters.

"I'll put them back in my pack. Figure if we are ever rescued we'll come back for our packs."

"Makes sense." He gave her a last quick kiss and let go. He walked into his bedroom and turned on the light. Sam followed and watched him sit on the edge of the bed with his feet separated. He bent down between his legs and dragged his pack out from below the bed. He put both letters in a small pocket on the front of the pack and slid it back under the bed. As he straightened up Sam stepped between his legs. She ran her hand through his hair. He put his hands on the back on her calves and started slowly moving them up.

"You seem to really like my hair."

"It's been off limits for so long."

"Off limits?"

"I could occasionally touch your arm, shoulder, back, and a couple times even your leg and make it look nonchalant but touching your hair would have been too intimate."

"I see." His hands had made it to the middle of her thighs. Sam grabbed the bottom hem of her shirt and pulled it over head. Jack's hands gripped her thighs and a moan escaped deep in his throat.

"I've got condoms in my pack." Jack started to lean forward in an attempt to pull the pack back out from under the bed.

Sam pushed back on his shoulder. "You won't need them."

"Oh." Jack looked embarrassed by his assumption. "I'm sorry, I thought we were…"

"Oh we are, lots. You just don't need any condoms." Jack's hands moved up to Sam's buttocks just as she pushed him back onto the bed. They fell onto the bed together. Jack slid one hand up to Sam's back and held her tight as he rolled over. Her leg slid up his thigh.

"Lots? I'm an old man ya' know."

"You've kept me waiting for years. I have a lot of pent up…energy that needs to be released." Sam unbuttoned Jack's shirt and slid it down his shoulders. He lifted one arm at a time so she could take his shirt off of him. His hands roamed her body as they kissed.

"Sports bras are the worst invention ever."

Sam laughed. "I rather like them."

"That's because you've never been thwarted as you tried to impress a woman with your one handed bra unhooking skills only to discover a lack of hooks." Their talking ceased.

Jack rolled onto his back and brought Sam with him. Their breathing was ragged and they were both smiling.

"That was…"

"…better than you remembered?"

Jack squeezed her. "Yes."

"There is much more scope for imagination when instant frost bite isn't an issue."

"I do like that I get to see and feel you naked." Sam squirmed as he rubbed her naked back. "When I used to think back on our time on 118 one of my biggest regrets was the lack of nakedness."

"How often did you think about 118?"

"More than I care to admit."

Sam kissed him just under his chin. "Me too."

"I also liked that you moaned my name."

She snorted.

"What?"

"I said Jonah once in the heat of the moment and the guy I was sleeping with wasn't impressed"

"Pete?"

Sam shook her head but avoided looking at Jack. "No, it was well before Pete."

"Well before?"

"We each had to deal with 118 our own ways."

"Right. Did you ever say my name, before tonight?"

"Only while I was alone."

"Hot damn." Mental images of Sam calling out his name ran through his head. The look on his face made her giggle.

"So why no condoms? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just curious."

Sam shrugged. "How many do you have in your pack?"

Jack tightened his lips as he thought. "Four or five."

"And I have three."

"Really?"

"Yes, we all take condoms with us, just in case."

"Guess it makes sense."

"Of course it makes sense. Women are just as likely to not follow the rules and have sex with aliens as men are."

"Ok, if you insist."

"You disagree?"

"A bit but if I try and argue that women are less likely to be led by their sex organs than men you'd say I was being sexist and the last thing I want to do is start a fight while we are pleasantly naked and relaxed."

"Smart man." Sam moved her fingers through his chest hair.

"So back to your lack of need for condoms."

"Right, if I can still do math correctly we have seven or eight condoms. That would last us a few days. Then what?"

Jack's eyes got big as he looked over at her. "A few days?"

"A week, maybe."

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"You'd die happy." She lightly bit his ear. He moaned and tightened his grip on her. "The nights here are very long and I've been thinking we should try the Uraba tradition of a night break."

"I'll try just about anything you suggest, especially if you keep doing that to my ear and chest."

"Hope you don't regret those words one day."

"Me too. So just to get it clear in my now sex addled brain you said no to the condoms because we'll run out pretty soon."

"Yes."

"Ok."

"If it makes you feel any better I'm still on birth control."

Jack tuned his head and she lost her hold on his ear. "You brought along that much birth control? Is carrying a year's supply of birth control normal procedure?"

Sam laughed. "Up to three years worth."

"Three?"

Sam lifted her left arm and twisted it. "I have implants."

"Huh?"

She took his hand and rubbed his fingers under her left arm. "Those lines you feel are my birth control implants."

"Oh."

"They're good for up to three years."

"How long have you had yours?"

"Hmmmm. About two years. I'm not really sure when I was due to go back to the OB-GYN but we're still covered."

"Good to know." His fingers moved from the inside of her left arm to the outside edge of her breast.

"Mmmmmmm."

They fell asleep embracing but drifted apart in their sleep. They slept late. When Jack woke he reached out for Sam. The feel of her skin helped him wake up. He rolled over and enveloped her in his arms.

"Good morning sexy. I hope my morning breath isn't too awful."

Sam rolled over to face him. "It's pretty bad but we're early enough in this relationship that I can lie and still kiss you good morning." She kissed him as promised. "Dibs on the bathroom."

Sam hopped out of bed and raced to the bathroom. Jack enjoyed the view before she closed the door. When she came back out she was wearing one of the large shirts that had been donated to them when they first arrived.

"You are so gorgeous."

Sam blushed. "I'll go make us some breakfast."

Jack smiled. "Cinnamon rolls?"

"That is why I bought them. They were a Christmas morning tradition at my house."

"I'll be out in five." Jack stood up, gave Sam a quick peck on the lips, and headed for the bathroom. She also enjoyed the show before he disappeared from view.

Jack started a fire while Sam finished putting breakfast out on plates. They ate breakfast snuggled up together on the sofa under a blanket. Jack took their plates to the sink while Sam went to the window.

"Wow."

Jack looked over at her. "What?"

"It snowed a lot more than I expected."

"How much more?"

"I think there might be as much as two feet and it's still coming down."

Jack joined her at the window. "I wonder if this is a typical snowfall here."

"I don't know but if it is that might explain why everyone was so intent I hurry home yesterday."

"Ya' think."

"I'm going get some clothes on and go check on the animals."

Jack shook his head."I can do that."

Sam looked over her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "We can do it together."

"I like how that sounds."

They both dressed in many layers and wore their boots. The snow was light and airy so it compressed as they moved through it. Sam feed the chickens and pigs while Jack milked the cow. They both mucked the stalls.

Sam dug through the supplies in the back corner. "I've got a couple ropes, figure we should tie them up between the house and the barn."

"Sure, can't hurt. I mean it isn't exactly a blizzard out there but it could get worse."

They both carried some wood with them back to the house and secured the ropes from the barn to the porch. They hung up their wet clothes and curled back up on the sofa.


	13. Chapter 13

After dinner Sam walked over to her new dresser. "So how attached are you to the little table by the door to your room?"

"I like the little lamp but the table can go or stay. Why?"

"I was thinking this dresser might look nice on that wall. You can put the little lamp on it."

Jack walked up behind her and put his arms around her. He kissed the side of her neck. "I love that idea."

By the end of the next day they had over three feet of snow. The ropes turned out to be helpful for their twice daily trips to the barn. The animals were sick of being trapped in the barn but neither Jack nor Sam felt like having to chase them to get them back in.

After struggling back into the house and shedding their wet clothes Jack went into the bedroom and Sam curled up on the sofa. Jack came back out to the living room carrying a piece of paper.

"Happy Birthday, beautiful."

"What?"

"Did you forget your birthday?"

"I wasn't paying attention to the date."

"We actually slept through most of it."

Sam took the paper from him. He had drawn some of the Uraba constellations on it and written happy birthday on the inside "It's beautiful. I love it."

"I'm also going to make you an amazing dinner."

"I'm already excited."

Jack grinned. "That's my goal."

They spent the next three days enjoying the snow and each other. They ate too much, slept a lot, and spent plenty of time naked. It was the best vacation they'd had in years.

"This one?" Sam traced a thin faint scar on Jack's hip.

"I wrecked while I was bike riding when I was eleven. I was dared to jump a gulley and I didn't make it."

"Of course you took the dare."

"Well duh. I was a head strong eleven-year-old." Jack traced a scare just above her right hip. "Your turn."

"Ovarian torsion with an appendectomy on the side. I was twelve."

"No big story to go with that I guess."

"Actually, I was at summer camp, you know, one of the ones for military brats."

"Yeah."

"I ate a huge lunch. I swear I went back for at least thirds. I'd been asked to go repelling with the younger campers to show them how easy it was. I started to feel bad on the drive but I didn't say anything until we were there and I was getting into my gear. I threw up when I was about a quarter of the way down the cliff. The counselor pulled me back up so I ended up with scraps on my arms and legs. I laid there while all the other kids went down the cliff. Then we had a two hour drive to get back to camp. Once we got back they called my dad and my brother came in from the teen camp to sit with me until my dad arrived. Of course once my dad heard the whole story he was unhappy that I had let the counselors down. He figured I had just over eaten but thankfully my brother threw a fit and insisted something was wrong. He knew I hadn't taken a nap since I was two, something my mother regularly complained about, and not only was I napping but I was asleep in a brightly lit room. I never even had a night light as a kid because I preferred a pitch black room. My dad was embarrassed by my brother's fit but caved and took me to the hospital. They ended up doing exploratory surgery. My left ovary was twisted and not getting blood. The surgeon was great. He made a small incision assuming it was going to be appendicitis and ended up fixing my ovary on the opposite side without making a bigger incision. He went ahead and took out my appendix while he was in there."

"So what happened to the guy at the bottom of the cliff?"

"Huh?"

"When you threw up, what happened the poor guy at the bottom?"

"Oh, that. It was close but I missed him. He did gag for quite a while though."

"All the kids were still willing to go down the cliff?"

"Some took a bit of coaxing but they all went."

"Were you an adventurous kid?"

"Oh, yeah, especially after my mother died. I was willing to try almost anything to get my dad's attention. My brother was the quiet stay inside and read kind of kid so I had to find my own niche. Don't get me wrong, I read plenty, but I was just as likely to ride off into the woods and climb a pile of rocks. I had my share of bumps and bruises but I think my dad respected that."

"I would have liked to know you as a kid."

"I doubt it. I had a heck of a chip on my shoulder and let's be honest when I was a kid you were in college. It would have just been creepy."

"Nice way to remind me that I'm old as sin."

"Oh, please. You're just experienced." She kissed him on his scraggly cheek.

"Uggg." Jack put his arm over his face.

Sam rolled out of bed. "You've certainly been keeping up with me old man."

Jack grinned. "I have haven't I." He swatted her rear as she went past him to the bathroom.

"Hey."

The snow melted quickly and Sam headed back to work. The change in her demeanor didn't escape Jamale.

"Welcome back Samantha. The snow seems to have made you very happy."

"I enjoyed it. It was beautiful. Does it usually snow that much?"

"That was an average snow but usually our first snow is less impressive."

"Jack and I have been talking and we want to look into getting a truck. Our bill at Marl's is almost paid off and our next goal is going to be a faster and safer way for me to get to town. The bike is wonderful but not really a great way to get around in the snow."

"That old bike is certainly not cut out for winter travel. Let Marl know you are interested in a vehicle. He has contacts in Sarl and Moshal and he might also know if someone local is interested in selling their vehicle. I'll keep my ears open too."

"Thanks."

It was just after midday when Jorl showed up.

"Hello, Samantha."

"Hi, Jorl."

"Did you complete your harvest before the early snow?"

"Yes, did you?"

"Of course. I have successfully finished a third harvest for more than a decade. Few others can make the same claim."

"That is very impressive."

"Thank you. Are you busy this evening? If not I would be pleased to have you over for dinner."

"I'm sorry but Jack is expecting me home tonight." This statement grabbed the attention of Jamale and his sons as well as Jorl.

"Really? I thought you usually stayed one night in town when you came to work."

"I did but I don't think I'll be doing that quite as much."

"Oh, well you are still welcome to come to dinner and I can take you home after."

"I appreciate the offer but Jack is expecting me home for dinner."

"I see." Jorl leaned over her workbench and whispered. "I am a patient man and I don't give up easily."

Sam was so shocked she didn't even get to respond before Jorl left. As soon as Jorl was out the door Jamale started laughing.

"That man can't take a hint can he?"

"I need to find a polite way to let him know I am not interested."

"I'm afraid he's not going to quit as long as you are eligible young maiden."

"There are so many things wrong with that sentence."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Jamale leaned on her bench. "Perhaps it is time you make it clear that you don't consider yourself an eligible young maiden."

"I'm open to ideas."

"When a widow is in mourning she wears a black ribbon necklace with her commitment pendent on it. As long as it shows she is not interested in being courted. Once she hides it under her blouse or takes it off she is receptive to being courted again."

"I'm not a widow though."

"Uncommitted men and women in a serious relationship wear tokens given by their love. The tokens can be something as simple as a ribbon or as elaborate as jewelry but either way it lets others know you are unavailable."

"A visible token. That sounds reasonable."

"It does?" Jamale's eyebrows rose.

"Yes, it does. I hope you're fine with me leaving early so I am home before dark."

Jamale stood back up. "Of course I am."

"Thank you."

"And you are welcome to come as often or an infrequently as you wish this winter. I know the trip can be daunting in the cold."

"I appreciate that."

Sam finished her work and headed home. The ride seemed longer than usual even though she made good time. She tried to think about productive topics but her mind kept coming back to Jack, specifically a naked Jack.

The house smelled good when she walked in. Jack was sitting on the sofa reading a book.

"What time will…" Sam's question was interrupted by the ding of the oven timer. Jack stood up.

"Welcome home. You were saying?"

"I was asking what time dinner was going to be ready but I guess that's a mute question."

Jack took some cornbread out of the oven. "The breads ready and I can serve up the soup and salad any time you're ready. Why? Are you hungry?"

Sam walked towards the bedroom. "I am but not for soup." Her coat dropped to the floor. "If you don't hurry I'll start without you."

Jack dropped the cornbread on the stove and turned the heat down on the soup. "I don't know if that's a threat or a promise."

"Get in here and find out."

Sam took total control and Jack was thrilled with the result.

"That was freaking amazing. Are you gonna come home from work like this every day? Cause if so I need to start working out more."

"Sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize one little bit. Like I said that was amazing."

Sam grinned as her cheeks turned red. She buried her face against his neck.

"I am still curious what I did to get such marvelous treatment."

Sam sighed into his neck. "I had a lot of time to think on the ride home."

"This is what you were thinking about?"

"Yes."

"Mmmmmmm…I love it."

Jack took a shower after dinner. When he came out Sam was in her old room. He peeked his head through the door. She was sitting on the bed with a variety of small items from Earth spread out in front of her.

"What're you doing?"

"Looking for something."

"What?"

"I'm not sure actually."

"Well, that makes sense."

Sam looked over at him and scowled. "Ha ha. You're so funny."

Jack leaned against the doorframe. "And you're not making any sense."

"Jorl came by the shop today. He asked me to dinner again."

"And yet you came home."

Sam's scowl deepened. "Not funny. I need to find a way to get him to understand I am not interested. Jamale suggested that I wear something to indicate I'm not on the market."

"Something?"

"It can be anything, like a ribbon or pin. I was thinking I'd pick something from Earth." Jack pushed off the doorframe and sat beside her on the bed. He looked at the items in front of her and shook his head.

"So how exactly does wearing something indicate you aren't on the market?"

"Apparently if you are in a serious relationship but not committed you can wear a token from your significant other to let others know you are off the market."

"Committed? As in locked away?"

Sam giggled. "It is the Uraba version of getting married."

"Guess this isn't the right time to say something smart ass about how commitment sounds like the right choice of words."

Sam nudged his arm. "I know you don't really think that way."

He got up and went to his room. Sam heard a drawer open and close. His hand was closed in a fist when he came back into her room.

"How about this?" Jack opened his hand. Sam looked at the rainbow colored yarn woven bracelet.

"Where did you get this?" Sam picked the bracelet up by one end.

"Cassie made it for me years ago. I've kept it in my wallet ever since."

"It isn't exactly military issue."

"No, not exactly. I think Cassie would be fine with me loaning it to you to help keep a creepy old dude from hitting on you."

"He isn't creepy."

"Whatever. Will this serve your purpose?"

"Yes, thank you. Will you put it on me?" Jack took the bracelet from her and tied the ends together so it was secured around her left wrist.

"So what do committed people wear to let people know they've been committed?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Pendants. Ladies wear them on necklaces or bracelets. All the men I've seen wear them on necklaces but I guess they can wear them on bracelets too."

"How does one get committed?"

"There's a ceremony. It sounds like you invite your friends over for dinner and announce your commitment to live as one."

Jack took her hand. "As one."

"Yes."

He kissed her knuckles. "Like we're doing."

"Yes."

He leaned towards her. She closed her eyes as his lips met hers. He didn't pull away when the kiss ended. "We still have that large roast in the freezer. If you didn't want to use that we could bag a large deer and roast it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we're committed and we ought to have a celebration with our friends so they'll know. We can invite Jorl if you'd like."

"We've been together for a week."

"Oh please, we've been in love for years. I know this is for forever. Don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then let's have a party."

Sam's eyes locked with his. "Years?"

"Yes."

"How many years?"

"I just said I love you and you're concerned about how many years I've loved you?"

"Yes." Sam kissed him lightly. "Since when?"

"If I'm being totally honest I was attracted from the moment you started talking about having your sex organs on the inside."

Sam put her head down on his shoulder. "I was so embarrassed."

"It was hilarious. The guys loved it. They brought it up for weeks. Trust me, having a comeback was much better than looking meek."

Sam shook her head.

"So how about you?"

She picked her head up off his shoulder "Huh?"

"When did you fall in love with me?"

She smiled. "I liked how you looked at me in that ridiculous dress but I didn't admit my interest in you to myself until we were freezing to death at the pole."

"I was glad you were there."

Sam looked away. Jack put his hand up and turned her face back towards him. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"It was Sarah you called out for."

"Oh." He rubbed her cheek. "I bet I thought you were her."

"That's what I assumed at the time."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't exactly with it you know."

"I know and even if you had said my name we were exactly at a point where we could have done anything about how we felt."

"Also true." He kissed her again. "But now we can have a party and tell everyone we know that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together having tons of hot sweaty sex."

"Are you planning on putting the hot sweaty sex bit into our commitment speech?"

"If I can subtly work it in."

Sam slapped his arm. "You are so bad."


	14. Chapter 14

Sam stayed home the next day, relaxing a bit and getting a fair amount of cleaning done. Jack worked out in the barn for most of the day. After dinner he turned on his ipod.

"May I have this dance?"

Sam took his hand. He gave her a quick spin that ended with her in his arms pressed against his chest. They swayed and turned in a couple circles.

Sam whispered in his ear. "I wonder if I will ever stop feeling like we're breaking the rules."

"It adds a bit of excitement, doesn't it?"

"I guess." Sam giggled.

After two songs Sam went over to the ipod and did some searching until she found what she was after.

"Is that beach music?" Jack grinned.

"Yes."

He wiggled his eyebrows. "You want to shag?"

"Yes and yes, but let's start with this first." She started dancing and Jack joined her. Two beach tunes were followed by another jazz tune. The music continued but neither of them was listening.

Sam left just as the sun was rising the next morning. Her first stop when she got to town was Marl's. "Good morning, Marl."

"Fine day to you Samantha. How can I help you today?"

"Jack and I have been talking and we'd like to get a truck. I was told you might be able to help us."

"There is a truck salesman in Otif. I would be happy to help negotiate for you. A new truck in Otif will be very expensive."

"Do they sell used trucks?"

"Sometimes but they are much less common."

"When will you be going to Otif?"

"I usually go a few weeks before the first planting, about the time we first met. You're welcome to join me if you'd like to pick out your own truck."

"Hmmmmm. I was hoping for something a bit sooner. Do you know of anyone closer who might be interested in selling?"

"Not really. Trucks around here are usually driven until they die."

"I've noticed."

"Actually now that I've said that I realize Jorl has two dead trucks. I don't know if he uses them for parts but I know neither of them works. You could probably get one of them working. You might need parts but I could get those for you in Otif."

"Jorl, huh."

Marl's laughed. "Hopefully his interest in you will work in your favor."

Sam scowled. "I wouldn't feel right about that."

"I didn't think you would but I couldn't help but tease you a little, especially since he has been so obvious about liking you."

"He has?"

"He talks about you often and he comes to town much more than he did before you arrived."

Sam shook her head, "He is nice but I'm afraid I don't feel the same way."

"Which is your right. I'm sorry I teased you. If you or Jack wish to travel with me to buy a truck you will be welcome. The company would actually be appreciated."

"We'll talk about it. Thank you for the offer."

After work Sam went home and told Jack about the options. They decided the easiest option was to talk to Jorl. Sam volunteered to approach him about the truck. She wasn't looking forward to it but she didn't think Jack would be able to sweet talk Jorl.

Three back to back snow storms kept Sam home for five weeks. Jack did a lot of woodworking while Sam read and worked on some small motors she had brought home. The lack of sun was making it hard to use their solar charger to keep all their electronic items running so she also started working on new charger and battery ideas. Jack was glad she was experimenting again.

It was her third day back at Jamale's when Jorl came in to see her. "Good day Samantha. I hope the snow did not cause you any harm."

"I enjoyed it actually. Thank you for asking."

Jorl leaned down on her workbench. "Do you like snow?"

"I think it's beautiful. Jack and I even built a snow man one day."

"A snow man?"

"Yes." Sam smiled at the thought. There had also been a snowball fight that ended with both of them lying in the snow laughing. "We had fun."

"Fun is good."

"I'm glad you came by today."

Jorl smiled, "You are?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, I wanted to talk to you about your trucks."

Jorl's brow knitted. "My trucks?"

"I was told you had a couple trucks that no longer run. Jack and I have been talking about buying a truck and I hoped you might be willing to sell one."

Jorl grinned. "I have two trucks that don't run any more. They wouldn't really do you much good."

"I know it would be a risk but I'd like to see if I could get one of them to run. Jack and I have enough to make it all winter and get started in the spring but we don't have enough money to really buy a new truck right now."

Jorl nodded. "Why don't you come over for a midday meal and look at both trucks. After you've looked at them we can talk about whether they might meet your needs."

"Jack and I would be happy to come over."

"Jack doesn't need to bother himself with making the trip out to my farm. I'm sure you can examine the trucks on your own."

"I wouldn't feel right leaving Jack out since we would be buying the truck together."

Jorl pushed up from the bench. "Perhaps we can work out a way for you to afford a truck on your own. I hate for you to be so dependent on Jack."

"Jack and I are a team and I like that we can depend on each other."

Jorl folded his arms. "I've been making a fool of myself haven't I?"

"No, of course not." Sam shook her head.

"Are you or are you not in a relationship with Jack?"

"Jack and I recently did enter into a deeper relationship." The fingers on Sam's right hand lightly traced the bracelet on her left wrist. Jorl didn't miss the movement.

Jorl reached out and grabbed her wrist. "You are wearing a token of his affection?"

Sam pulled her arm back. "Yes." Jamale heard Jorl's voice get louder so he stepped into the main working room of the shop.

"String? He gave you strings as a token?" Jorl's arms were waving in the air and his face was red.

"It has a great deal of sentimental value to both of us."

"I am well off. I could give you real tokens of affection but you take a man who gives you strings."

Jamale stepped forward. "No one has seen you as a fool but if you keep acting like this we might change our opinion."

Jorl turned on Marl. "You knew as well didn't you? You let me keep on so you could laugh at me."

"There have not been any laughs, my friend. I know this stings your pride but nothing was done in cruelty."

As Jorl stormed towards the door a truck horn started to blare outside. Sam, Jamale, and Jamale's son rushed outside behind Jorl. A boy of eleven or twelve was sitting behind the wheel of a truck that had run into a tree beside the road. Sam and Jamale ran over the truck and helped the boy get out. He did not appear to be injured.

"Our house." The boy was screaming. "Our house is in a hole. I tried to get to my mother and the girls but the hole got bigger."

Sam squatted so she could look the boy in the eye. "Slow down and explain what happened."

The boy took a deep breath. "My brothers and I were playing in the woods when we heard a loud noise. The whole house had been swallowed by a huge hole. I could hear my mother yelling at us to stay away but I tried to get to her any way. When I tried to climb into the hole the sides fell away. My brother almost fell in as the hole got bigger. I moved them back and came here for help."

Sam nodded. "You did the right thing." Sam looked at Jorl. "Can you take this young man to the clinic?"

The boy squared his shoulders. "I'm fine."

"And the clinic will verify that. You also need to let them know what happened so they can send help to your farm."

The boy pouted. "Fine."

"I will take him, alert the staff, and meet you at the Moril farm."

"Thank you."

Sam turned to Jamale's sons. "I need you to take your dad's truck to my farm." Sam went into the shop, wrote a note, and brought it to the boys. She came back out and handed the note to the boys. "Give this to Jack and then get to the Moril farm."

Sam turned to Jamale. "We need to round up a few supplies and get to the farm before everyone else."

"What supplies do we need?"

"Rope, gloves, and tarps. Jack should bring the rest."

"I will get what I have in the shop. You go to Marl's."

"I'll meet you back here in a minute."

Sam ran through the front door of Marl's store. "Marl!"

Marl stepped out from the back. "Samantha?"

"The Moril boy says their house fell into a hole. I need all of the rope and gloves you can spare. I also need at least five or six tarps. You can put it all on my tab."

"A hole?"

"Yes, I'm in a big hurry Marl."

"Right, right. Come on to the back."

Marl helped her carry the supplies to the Moril truck. Jamale was already waiting on them and the truck was running.

"I will close up my store and follow you."

Sam climbed into the passenger side of the truck. "Round up a few more people if you can. We'll need help." Marl nodded as Sam closed the door and Jamale sped off.

The sinkhole wasn't as large as Sam has feared but it was deep. It encompassed the whole house and extended to the edge of the barn which meant the barn wasn't safe. There were three boys, all younger than their brother, standing a few feet from the hole. The youngest two were crying and the oldest was doing his best to remain calm while holding his brothers hands. Sam went over to the boys.

"I'm Sam and this is Jamale. We're here to help you. I need you to step further back from the hole, just to be safe."

The oldest of the boys nodded and followed Sam back to the truck.

"Are both of your parents in the hole?"

The oldest boy nodded, "Our sisters are too."

"How many sisters do you have?"

"Two."

The youngest of the boys lifted his tear streaked face, "But they're both babies. I'm not a baby anymore."

"I can see that you aren't. What's your name?"

"Hob."

"We're going do everything we can to get your parents and sisters out of the hole." Sam turned towards the sinkhole and called out. "Can you hear us?"

She heard a woman's voice. "Yes, yes, I can hear you."

Sam looked over at the boys. "Is that your mother?" All three boys nodded. "Are the girls with you?"

"Jan is with me. Cami is to my left but I can't reach her. Every time I move we sink a little further in."

"Don't move. It is going to take us some time get everything set up so we can get you out."

"I won't move."

Sam turned back to the boys. "Is Jan older or younger?"

"She's the baby."

Sam turned back to the boys. "Are there any animals in the barn?"

The boys all nodded.

"Okay. We're going to get the animals out because the barn is too close to the hole. Once we get them out we'll need your help taking care of them. Will you be able to help us?"

"Yes." All three boys agreed. "I want you to stay here until we come back with the animals. If others show up tell them to wait here. Tell them I said not to go near the hole."

"Okay."

Jamale followed Sam as she walked around the hole staying far from the edge. She went to the back of the barn to see if there was a way in but was disappointed to see solid walls. The only entrance was on the edge of the sink hole and she wanted to avoid getting that close.

"We need to break in through this back wall."

Jamale looked up and down the wall. "We'll need some tools but we can make that happen."

"We better make it happen quickly. I'm worried that hole is going to get bigger."

"We might be able to put some of this wood to use too."

"Good idea."

They got back to the boys and the truck as Jorl, Leila, and Marl pulled up. Jorl had hammers in the back of his truck. Marl, Jamale, and Jorl went back to the back of the barn and started tearing down the wall. The three younger boys joined their older brother who had returned with Jorl. Sam started making harnesses from the ropes and tarps. Leila checked out the younger boys who were now crowded around their oldest brother.

Leila put all four boys in the back on their truck and gave them some juice and snacks, to try and ward off the worst of the shock she knew they were experiencing. The men got the horses, pigs, cows, and chickens out of the barn. None of the animals were happy about leaving their warm barn for the cold snow but the men didn't give them a choice. The animals were tied to the trucks and the chickens were placed in crates in the back with the boys.

"Nara, we're going to be doing a lot of work up here for a bit but I need you and the girls to stay put!"

"We aren't going anywhere! I can't see my husband!"

"We'll be looking for him! I want to get you and the girls out first!"

Sam got all of the men to begin tying the ropes together. She had decided to anchor one side of the ropes to the trucks and the other side to a couple trees that appeared to be far enough from the sinkhole edge to be stable. She was ready to start hanging the ropes when Jack arrived. It took nearly two hours for them to get the ropes secured.

Sam put on her vest, which Jack had brought per her note. She placed pulleys on the ropes and secured her harness.

"I should be the one going." Jack pulled on her harness.

Sam sighed "We aren't going to discuss it again. I'm lighter."

"Fine." He locked his eyes with hers."Be careful."

"Always."

Sam hooked herself onto the ropes and pulled herself out over the edge of the sinkhole. She made slow but steady progress. She was tethered to Jack with an extra rope that he was letting out slowly as she moved away from him. As she moved out she could see Nara and the baby. She kept scanning for Cami and Nara's husband, Hilner.

As Sam got close to Nara she saw Cami's leg far to Nara's left.

"I'm going to come back for the baby in a minute but I'm going to go get Cami first."

Nara nodded, "Yes, please save her. She stopped crying a while ago."

Sam moved past Nara. She placed her feet down when she was parallel to Cami. Her right foot sank down through a part of a wall. She caught herself and shifted her weight to her left. Jack tightened on the rope. Once she was steady he slacked off on the tension. She nodded her thanks at him.

She pulled her right leg out of the hole and got her feet firmly planted. She slowly moved towards Cami. She saw the child's leg move and breathed a sigh of relief. She felt better knowing this was a rescue not a recovery mission.

"Cami, sweetie, my name is Sam. I'm here to help you." Sam didn't get a response. Sam lifted a piece of wood off of Cami's leg. The child didn't move but she did moan. Sam released as much of her rope as possible but she could only just touch Cami's right leg. She pulled against the rope to which the pulley was attached but she was unable to get close enough to the child to pick her up.

Sam looked over at Jack. He knew what she was going to do before she mouthed sorry.

He couldn't let go of the rope tethered to Sam to grab his radio so he screamed instead. "Don't you dare! Sam!"

Sam unhooked from the carbine that attached her to the guide rope across the sinkhole. Jack tightened his grip on the rope that kept her tethered to him. She pulled hard on the rope and he gave her a small amount of slack. He slowly fed her more rope as she crawled over shingles to reach the child.

"Cami? I'm Sam. Can you hear me sweetie?" Sam was kneeling beside the girl. She placed her hands under the girls head and her little brown eyes opened. "Hey darling."

"Hey."

"Are you hurt?"

"Yeah."

"Can you tell me what hurts?"

"No."

"Ok, that's ok. I'm going to pick you up and get you out of here."

"Ok."

The girl cried in pain as Sam lifted her. That was enough to convince Sam that her plan to have the girl ride on a harness attached to Sam's back wasn't going to work. She placed the child in the papoose bag lying across her stomach. She had planned to use that for the baby but she would find a way to make this work. She tried to calm the child as she stood but the shingles gave way under her. She held Cami and rolled so the girl stayed up, away from the shingles Sam found herself lying among. Jack pulled the rope taunt. Sam lay still for a second. She could hear him screaming but she had to catch her breath. The fall had scared Cami and she was crying again.

Sam shifted, sat up, and gave Jack a thumbs up. She toggled her radio, "We're fine." Jack nodded but kept a tight grip on the rope.

"It's ok sweetie. I'm sorry I scared you." She rubbed Cami in the papoose bag. The child whimpered but stopped screaming. Sam decided it was best to scoot back over to the rope. It took longer than she had hoped but she got there and was happy to hook back up to the rope. She knew Jack breathed a sigh of relief also since he gave her a bit more slack.

Sam moved back over to Nara. "I have Cami."

"Is she ok?"

"I think she'll be fine but I want to get her out of here. I'll take the baby at the same time and come back for you."

"Did you see my husband while you were over there?"

"No, I'm sorry. Can you hand me the baby?"

Nara kissed the little girl and lifted her just enough for Sam to pick her up. The baby was very quiet. Sam placed her in the papoose bag with Cami. The baby curled up against her sister. It was a tight fit but Sam thought the girls would be able to stay safe until she got them to the trucks.

"I will be back as soon as I can. Just stay still until then."

"I won't go anywhere." Nara smiled despite her fear.

Sam tried to pull herself and the girls up with one hand and hold the girls with the other but she couldn't manage it. She had to use both hands to lift the three of them off the pile of rubble. Sam locked her pulley and pulled on the rope. Jack and the other men started pulling Sam and the girls to the edge of the hole.

It felt good to put her feet on solid ground. Leila was the first person to reach out for Sam and the papoose bag wrapped tightly in her arms. Sam handed her the baby first. Leila looked the baby over quickly and handed it to a young girl who was there to help her. Cami started crying as soon as the baby left the papoose bag.

"She says she's in pain but she can't tell me where." Sam's face radiated her concern. Jack was standing behind her looking over her shoulder. Leila gently cradled the crying girl.

"We'll find out what's wrong won't we baby girl?" Leila took the girl back towards the line of trucks.

Jack put his hands on Sam's shoulders. She turned to face him. His neck and face muscles were tense. "Don't you ever do that to me again. If you need the guide rope moved just tell us. All we have to do is move the truck."

Sam looked over at the truck to which one side of the rope was anchored. "I didn't think about that. All I was thinking about was getting Cami. I'm sorry."

Jack's face relaxed. "Even after all these years you're still the same woman who didn't leave Cassie alone at the bottom of that silo."

Sam knew she was forgiven. She looked down to her right and gave a tight grin. "True."

"So are you two going to just stand around exchanging love poems or are you going to get Nara out of there?" Jorl's arms were crossed as he leaned against his truck.

Jack stepped around Sam. "Back off." Jorl pushed off the truck and stalked over to where Leila was working on Cami.

"He's right. Do you have a harness made for Nara?"

Jack turned around and bent down. "Right here."

"She thinks her leg is broken. Can you add a leg sling to the harness?"

"It will take me a few minutes."

"That's fine. I need to talk to Leila any way." Sam headed off as Jack started modifying the harness. Sam ignored Jorl as she got close. She watched Leila checking Cami for a few minutes. Leila sent all the kids to the clinic with two of her assistants before turning her attention back to Sam.

"Are you ok? You took a hard fall. I really should check you out."

"I'm fine but Nara thinks her leg is broken. Do you have an easy way for me to stabilize her leg?"

"I might." Leila opened a couple bags before she found the long hard split. She handed the splint and a wrap to Sam. "Will this work?"

"I'll give it a try. Thanks."

As Sam headed back towards Jack three more vehicles arrived. As people piled out Jorl went over and told them it would be best to move their vehicles further back. He came back with his arms loaded with food and drinks. "Supplies have arrived. Would you like something to eat or drink before you head back out?"

"Yes, thank you." Sam took a cup of juice and half a sandwich.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"I understand. It's fine."

Jack walked up and took the other half of the sandwich. "The harness is ready."

"Good. Let's go get her." Sam walked back over to the truck serving as the rope anchor. "Have any of you seen Hilner?" Jorl, Jack, and Jamle shook their heads no. "We need to find some way to get an idea where he is in this mess."

Jamle looked up at the trees behind him. "I will send the boys up the trees. Maybe they can see something from up there."

Sam reached into a pocket on the left breast of her vest. "Give them these."

"What is it?"

"Binoculars." Sam unfolded the small binoculars so they could be used. "Tell them to look for clothing or anything that just doesn't look right. He's probably partially buried under debris." Jack pulled a pair of binoculars from his vest and handed them to Jamale. Jamale folded and unfolded the binoculars as he walked off headed towards his sons who were taking advantage of the food and drink that had recently arrived.

"Time for me to go get Nara." Sam turned back towards the sinkhole.

"Would you like us to nudge the truck a bit?" Jack tilted his head towards the truck in question.

Sam looked from the truck to the area where she left Nara. "One or two meters that way," Sam pointed to her left, "would give me more leeway to work."

"We can do that." Jack went over to Jamale and within five minutes the truck had been moved and Sam was hooked back up. She made her way back out to Nara, who had not moved since Sam left.

"I'm back." Sam was swinging above and to the right of Nara.

"How are my girls?"

"Leila sent all the kids to the clinic so they can be checked over, fed, kept warm, and entertained. Now it's your turn to get out of here so you can get to the clinic and see them."

"But they're alright?"

"They were very happy to see their brothers. I bet they will get along really well for a few days after all this."

Nara snickered. "Hours maybe but days might be a bit optimistic."

Sam grinned as she lowered herself. She slowly put more weight on her feet, testing the structural integrity of the collapsed wall upon which she was standing. Once she felt sure it would hold Sam put all her weight down and let out some rope so she had some leeway to move around. Sam bent down beside Nara and pulled out the harness Jack had assembled.

"I'm going to place this around you. It's going to wrap under your arms."

"Alright."

Sam wrapped her arms around Nara and tightened the upper portion of the harness around her. "Now that I have you secured I'm going to clear some of this debris off of you. That will let me get the rest of the harness around you."

"You just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it."

Sam lifted some boards off of Nara's abdomen and three logs off of her legs. When she lifted the first log Sam could see that Nara's leg was indeed broken. She untied the splint Leila had given her.

"You were right about your broken leg."

"Oh good." Nara grimaced.

"I have a splint but it's going to hurt for me to put it on."

"Figured."

"You'd rather have it on while we move you."

"True." Nara slowly let out a breath. "Go for it."

Sam laid the splint beside Nara's mangled leg. She hoped to be able to slide it under her leg in one swift movement but the break was so bad that Sam had to keep Nara's leg up longer than she had hoped. Nara screamed as Sam worked. Nara continued to pant after Sam laid her leg down on the splint. Sam gave Nara a moment to compose herself before she tightened the splint around her leg.

"The worst of it is over. I know it was bad but you'd rather have that on as we move you."

"I know." Nara's tear streaked face and gasps made Sam feel awful even though she knew she was helping her.

"Now that we have your leg stabilized I am going to wrap the harness around your waist and legs."

Nara just nodded. Sam shifted back up closer to Nara's head. Nara leaned forward as Sam tied part of the harness around her waist. Nara lifted the unbroken leg so Sam could thread part of the harness under her leg and up to the part of the harness around her waist. Sam was thinking about the least painful way to get the harness under the broken leg when she heard the creaking. Sam looked up at Jack and saw Jack was looking at the barn.

Sam shifted her focus just in time to see the front of the barn starting to collapse as the sinkhole opened further. Sam felt the tether attached to her tighten as the world under her fell away. She had loosened the rope that attached her to the pulley so she fell as the sink hole opened. Nara fell also but since they were both in harnesses they were left hanging over the now larger pit.

Jack was leaning back and keeping tension on the tether that tied him to Sam. Jorl was holding the rope that went to Nara's harness. Thankfully Sam had gotten enough of the harness around Nara so she was hanging lopsided but the harness was holding her above the void. Sam calmed her breathing while righting herself. Once she was right side up she looked over at Nara who was hanging with most of her weight on her hip. Nara looked very uncomfortable.

Sam pulled on her rope and lifted herself higher. She locked her rope in the pulley. She pulled herself closer to Nara.

"I'm going to help you get turned around the right way. Hopefully we can get the rest of this harness on you so they can pull you to safety."

Nara was holding on to the ropes around her chest. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking. Sam grabbed one of the dangling parts of Nara's harness to steady Nara's swaying. She pulled Nara close.

"I need you to hold this rope instead of the harness."

Nara furiously shook her head. "I can't let go."

"Just one hand at a time. " Sam touched Nara's left hand. "Let go."

"No."

"You have to do this. Now let go." Nara did as told and Sam moved her hand to the rope attached to the pulley.

"Good. One down. One to go." Sam put her hand on Nara's right hand and guided it to the right rope. Nara was still shaking but holding to the main rope instead of the harness was helping her sit a bit straighter in the partially connected harness. Her eyes were still closed so Sam wasn't sure Nara fully appreciated her steadier orientation.

"I'm going to try and get the rest of the harness attached so your ride out of here is smoother."

Nara nodded her head to acknowledge Sam. Sam took one of the freely hanging harness straps and wrapped it around Nara's leg. She was struggling to get it hooked as Nara began to cry.

"Nara?"

"It hurts?" Sam stopped what she was doing.

"What hurts?"

"My leg." Sam looked down at the dangling broken leg in its splint.

"Let me get this part of the harness attached and I will try to get your leg steadied." Sam pulled even harder on the last part of the waist harness. She got it up to the hook and finished getting Nara strapped in.

"That should help you feel a little better."

Nara just nodded again. Sam spun Nara slowly so she could have better access to the last part of the harness down near Nara's legs. Sam reached out as far as she could but the last part of the harness was beyond her reach. She tried three times and was about to give herself some more slack when she saw the men at the side of the sinkhole waving. She decided to take their advice and quit wasting time on the harness. Nara's trip to the side would be more painful with her broken leg hanging free but getting her there now was more important than her comfort.

"I can't get it Nara and they are ready to start pulling you. This going to hurt but it will be over soon."

"Right. Thank you."

"Keep your hands where they are. Don't reach up towards the pulley." Sam gave them a thumbs up and they began to pull Nara. "They'll get you to safety soon."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as the men pulled Nara away. She was sobbing in pain but holding tight as she moved away. Once Nara was safely at the truck and being helped the men pulled Sam towards them. She was glad to get back on solid ground. Leila and two assistants were helping Nara. A woman brought Sam a drink as she sat on the ground catching her breath.

"Thank you."

Jack was sitting beside her. "I'm glad you emptied the barn."

Sam looked over at the destroyed barn. "Have the boys seen any sign of Hilner?"

"Not so far but they're still looking."

"If he was near the barn we'll never find him."

"I know." Jack rubbed Sam's back. "You did really well out there."

"Thanks." Sam finished her drink. Jorl came over and stood beside Sam.

"Thanks for saving Nara and her girls. I doubt we could have gotten them out if the two of you weren't here." Jorl walked away without waiting for a response.

"Your boyfriend is a weird guy."

Sam slapped Jack's arm and grinned. "Stop."

The men were setting up multiple fires around the perimeter because the sun was going to set soon when the boys came down from the trees because they had seen something in the pit on the side furthest from the barn. They weren't sure it was Hilner though.

After a brief discussion Sam and Jack decided they should both go out to explore the far end of the sinkhole but it meant moving the anchor truck and guide ropes. It took forty minutes to get everything moved and set up. Sam had a snack and paced while Jack shouted orders. Once everything was ready they both put on harnesses and headed out over the massive unstable pit. They had lights attached to their vests so they could occasionally stop and search the area as well as see where they were going.

The boys had climbed up on top of the truck and were using the last of the sunlight to wave Sam and Jack towards the general area where they thought they saw some clothing that might belong to Hilner. It took an hour of searching but Jack saw the red fabric the boys had spotted. He directed the truck to move three meters so he and Sam could get close enough to explore near the red color. They positioned themselves on opposite sides of the area they planned to search.

Jack lowered himself and lightly put his feet on the tree branches that littered this region of the pit. The branches collapsed under him as soon as he put a little weight on them. He shifted forward and tried again but got the same result. Sam was able to put a little weight on the pile of branches on her side but as she added more weight the branches gave way under her also. Her harness caught her but it was still a hard fall.

"Sam? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. This isn't going to hold either of us."

"Nope, I guess we just have to dig while hanging."

"Right, easier said than done." They both leaned over and tossed back the branches they could reach. They saw Hilner's shirt at the same time. They both moved closer and saw a large tree trunk was lying across the man.

Jack met Sam's eyes. "Ideas?"

"Not off the top of my head. Let me think." Sam looked around. She and Jack didn't have enough leverage while hanging to lift the tree. "I think we can use the smaller tree over there as a lever. If you put your weight on it that might lift the larger tree enough for me to pull him out."

"Ok." Jack signaled for the truck to be moved so the rope would let them both get into position. Jack lowered himself and put part of his weight on the smaller tree. Sam positioned herself near Hilner. As Jack put more weight on the tree truck the larger tree lifted slightly. Sam grabbed Hilner and pulled but he didn't budge. Sam lowered herself further and put more of her weight on the branches below Hilner. She assumed if they were holding him and the large tree the branches could support her weight as well. Once she was set she pulled again. Hilner moved enough for Sam to be able to get a rope around his chest under his arms. She felt better having him secured.

"Do you have all of your weight on the tree?"

Jack couldn't see Sam any longer but he could hear her screaming her question. "Not yet."

"Give it some more."

"Gottcha" Jack put more weight on the smaller tree and the bigger tree shifted again. Sam pulled again but Hilner was still stuck.

"Put all your weight on it." Jack did as he was told and the smaller tree lifted again. The larger tree rolled and Sam was able to move Hilner a little but not enough. The lower half of his body was still trapped.

"Is that as far as it's going to go?"

"I'm giving it all I've got."

"Ok. I've got another idea but you've got to stay put."

"I'm not going anywhere. You be careful."

"Will do." Sam bent down beside Hilner and began digging out below him. She hoped if she could make a small hole below him she would be able to pull him out. She stomped on branches to break them and then pushed them down. She made a nice sized depression behind Hilner's back and was about to pull him again when her last stomp set off a chain reaction that sent Sam, Hilner, and the large tree falling. Sam and Hilner were caught by their harnesses but it was another hard fall. The tree crash removed the counter weight on Jack's tree so it came down and threw him up. He was caught by his harness as he dropped back down.

Sam felt Jamale pulling her safety rope. Hilner didn't have the luxury of a safety rope so he swinging freely below Sam.

"Sam?"

"I'm fine. Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Do you have him?"

"I can get to him. Head this way and we can take him in together." Jack did as instructed. He lifted himself up to the guide rope and pulled himself closer to Sam and Hilner. Sam was trying to get Hilner more securely harnessed in when Jack arrived. With his help Hilner was secured and moved up closer to the guide rope. Sam lifted herself higher and they signaled the men to pull them. It took less than fifteen minutes to reach the side once they started moving.

Leila got Hilner out of his harness as soon as he arrived. He was barely breathing and looked awful. She got in the back of a truck with him and called back over her shoulder, "I want to see both of you at the clinic tonight."

"We're fine." Sam yelled at Leila as she rode past her.

"Tonight!" was the last word Sam heard as Leila raced away with Hilner.

"I like her. She reminds me of Janet." Sam rolled her eyes at Jack's observation.


End file.
